The U.N. weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, and warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, wildfires, glacier melt, and heat waves in the future. The World Meteorological Organization also warned that the average temperature for the year is up some 1.4 degrees … continue reading -> “UN Weather Agency: 2023 Is Hottest Year on Record, More Climate Extremes Ahead”
Vietnam, with the world’s second-largest reserves of the rare earths used in such modern devices as electric vehicle batteries and smart phone screens, is intensifying mining of the critical minerals. The industry, though, faces high processing costs, environmental concerns, and the takedown of industry leaders for illegal mining and mineral sales. Vietnam’s rare earth resources … continue reading -> “Vietnam’s Rare Earth Sector on the Rise”
A South African company will make vaginal rings that protect against HIV, which AIDS experts say should eventually make them cheaper and more readily available. The Population Council announced Thursday that Kiara Health of Johannesburg will start making the silicone rings in the next few years, estimating that 1 million could be produced annually. The … continue reading -> “South African Company to Start Making Vaginal Rings That Protect Against HIV”
Vice President Kamala Harris will lead the U.S. delegation to the world’s premier climate summit, the White House said Wednesday. The White House stressed that President Joe Biden considers the climate crisis among his top four priorities, but the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has consumed much of his time and attention. “Throughout her … continue reading -> “Vice President Harris to Lead US Delegation to Major Climate Summit”
American leadership is essential in establishing norms and laws to “determine how we both glean the promise and manage the peril” of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and digital economic and social platforms used to connect billions of people around the world, a White House adviser told VOA. The Biden administration has rolled out a … continue reading -> “White House Hopes to Lead Global Charge in ‘Promise, Peril’ of Emerging Tech Like AI”
Life expectancy in the United States is on the rise but remains lower than it was in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, as a host of other factors contributing to mortality, including chronic disease, gun violence and a persistent epidemic of overdose deaths, continue to plague the country. According to data released by the … continue reading -> “US Life Expectancy Climbs, but Remains Below Pre-Pandemic Levels”
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drone production in the country has surged. Ukrainian businesses have shifted from manufacturing products for peacetime to producing equipment for wartime. From Kyiv, Myroslava Gongadze explains how Ukrainian ingenuity is altering the course of the war. Camera: Eugene Shynkar. …
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a virtual currency mixer the Treasury Department said has processed millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from major heists carried out by North Korea-linked hackers. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said virtual currency mixer Sinbad, hit with sanctions on Wednesday, processed millions of dollars worth … continue reading -> “US Imposes Sanctions on Cryptocurrency Mixer Sinbad Over Alleged North Korea Links”
The COP28 climate summit gets underway Thursday in Dubai, as scientists warn the world is heading for irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change. 2023 is on course to be the hottest year on record, according to data from the European Union, which says that climate change combined with this year’s El Nino weather pattern have … continue reading -> “As COP28 Gets Underway, Scientists Warn of Irreversible, Catastrophic Climate Change”
The COP28 climate summit gets under way in Dubai Thursday. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the meeting comes at what scientists say is a crucial moment in the fight against global warming, with warnings the world is on the brink of irreversible and catastrophic climate change …
The North American wolverine will receive long-delayed federal protections under a Biden administration proposal released Wednesday in response to scientists warning that climate change will likely melt away the rare species’ snowy mountain refuges. Across most of the United States, wolverines were wiped out by the early 1900s from unregulated trapping and poisoning campaigns. About … continue reading -> “US Wolverines Threatened With Extinction as Climate Change Melts Refuges”
U.S. life expectancy rose last year — by more than a year — but still isn’t close to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 rise was mainly due to the waning pandemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said Wednesday. But even with the large increase, U.S. life expectancy is only … continue reading -> “US Life Expectancy Rose Last Year, But it Remains Below its Pre-Pandemic Level “
Children made up nearly half of the people driven into hunger and malnutrition by extreme weather events in countries heavily impacted by the climate crisis in 2022, according to a UK-based charity. Citing data by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC hunger monitoring system, Britain’s Save the Children said Tuesday that children made … continue reading -> “Climate Crises Drastically Increase Child Hunger, UK-Based Charity Says”
Disease could pose a bigger threat to human life than bombings in Gaza, the World Health Organization said. Overcrowding and a lack of access to clean drinking water or sanitation systems has led to a breeding ground for infectious disease, particularly diarrhea in children, which has reached nearly 100 times its normal level, according to … continue reading -> “World Health Organization Warns of Disease Threat in Gaza”
Almost all U.S. jobs, from truck driver to childcare provider to software developer, include skills that can be done, or at least supplemented, by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), according to a recent report. GenAI is artificial intelligence that can generate high-quality content based on the input data used to train it. “AI is likely to … continue reading -> “Is AI About to Steal Your Job?”
When world leaders gather in Dubai beginning Thursday for COP28, this year’s U.N. climate summit, the heads of the world’s two largest economies will be notably absent. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have no plans to attend the two-week event, which is aimed at marshaling governments around the world behind the … continue reading -> “COP28 Has Big Agenda but Won’t Have Biden, Xi”
National and regional authorities in Spain signed an agreement Monday to invest 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in areas around the treasured national park of Donana in a bid to stop the park from drying up. Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said the plan was aimed at encouraging farmers to stop cultivating crops that rely … continue reading -> “Spain to Invest 1.4 Billion Euros to Protect Threatened Donana Wetland”
Pakistan launched a week-long nationwide polio vaccination campaign Monday, as the country remains one of only two around the world where the paralyzing virus still exists. This year, so far, Pakistan has reported five cases of the highly infectious disease. The latest polio eradication campaign will target more than 4.4 million children across much of … continue reading -> “Pakistan: Nationwide Polio Campaign Targets Over 4 Million Children”
A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus, the country’s health ministry said Sunday. Recent clusters of respiratory infections are caused by an overlap of common viruses such as the influenza … continue reading -> “China Says Surge in Respiratory Illnesses Caused by Flu, Other Known Pathogens”
Growing calls for the world to come to grips with the many ways that global warming affects human health have prompted the first day dedicated to the issue at crunch UN climate talks starting next week. Extreme heat, air pollution and the increasing spread of deadly infectious diseases are just some of the reasons why … continue reading -> “Heat, Disease, Air Pollution: How Climate Change Impacts Health “
In the Pacific Northwest, one U.S. state is trying a novel approach to combatting opioid abuse — decriminalizing small amounts of hard drugs. From Oregon, Deborah Bloom has our story. …
On the cusp of the COP28 climate talks, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited frozen but rapidly melting Antarctica and said that intense action must be taken at the conference where countries will address their commitments to lowering emissions of planet-warming gases. “We are witnessing an acceleration that is absolutely devastating,” Guterres said Thursday about the … continue reading -> “UN Chief Visits Rapidly Melting Antarctica Ahead of COP28 Climate Talks”
Japan detected the first case of highly pathogenic H5-type bird flu this season at a poultry farm in the south of the country, public broadcaster NHK reported Saturday. The local government in Saga prefecture will cull about 40,000 birds on the farm, NHK said, citing agriculture ministry officials it did not name. Ministry officials were … continue reading -> “Japan Detects Season’s First Bird Flu Case, Will Cull 40,000 Birds, Report Says”
On the eve of international climate talks, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited globally important Antarctica, where ice that’s been frozen for millions of years is melting because of human-caused climate change, to send the message that “we absolutely need to act immediately.” “What happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica,” Guterres said. In addition to … continue reading -> “UN Chief Speaks From Antarctica Ahead of Global Climate Summit “
The World Health Organization said it has confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the first time as the country experiences its biggest outbreak, a worrying development that African scientists warn could make it more difficult to stop the disease. In a statement issued late Thursday, the U.N. health agency … continue reading -> “WHO Confirms First Sexual Spread of Mpox in Congo Amid Record Outbreak”