Around $1 trillion of food is lost or wasted each year around the world, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Reversing that trend could preserve enough food to feed 2 billion people. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at how COVID-19 has spurred innovative efforts to prevent food waste and hunger in the…
read moreCDC says cases of coronavirus clusters are increasing in the U.S. in youth sports and day care centers, while hospitals are reporting more younger adults are being admitted with severe cases of the disease. As Mariama Diallo reports, coronavirus variants are to blame for the rise. …
read moreUnder pressure from activists, on Thursday President Joe Biden signed a series of executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence, following recent mass shootings. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports, prospects for gun control legislation appear dim for now in the divided U.S. Congress. …
read moreThe United States officially joined a U.N. group on climate and security on Thursday as part of the Biden administration’s focus on mitigating all impacts of the climate crisis.“This is a critical issue for the United Nations, especially because the threat isn’t just to all of our climates. It’s also a collective security issue for…
read moreA centrist U.S. Democratic lawmaker, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, is renewing his opposition to changes in the parliamentary rules in the politically divided Senate, imperiling President Joe Biden’s ambitious legislative agenda. In the Senate, now with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, members of both parties in recent years have more frequently employed a filibuster…
read moreRepublican U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin announced his candidacy for governor of New York on Thursday with an attack on incumbent Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the subject of investigations over sexual harassment allegations and COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents. “The bottom line is this; to save New York, Andrew Cuomo’s gotta go,” Zeldin, a fourth-term…
read moreFor decades, a public lands tug-of-war has played out over a vast expanse of southern Utah where red rocks reveal petroglyphs and distinctive twin buttes bulge from a grassy valley. A string of U.S. officials has heard from those who advocate for broadening national monuments to protect the area’s many archaeological and cultural sites, considered…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland are scheduled to speak Thursday about a set of new measures meant to address gun violence in the United States.Ahead of their remarks, the White House released details of some of the initiatives, calling gun violence a “public health epidemic.”Plan details One action is a proposed…
read moreThe political dispute over a new election law in the southern state of Georgia has broadened into a debate over whether the United States should participate in a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price acknowledged the U.S. will discuss with allies whether to jointly boycott the…
read moreSeveral nations have issued new guidelines over the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after the European Union’s medical regulator announced a link between the vaccine and rare, possibly fatal blood clots.Britain, where the vaccine was developed jointly by the British-Swedish drugmaker and scientists at the University of Oxford, says it will offer alternatives for adults…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden will unveil a series of executive actions aimed at addressing gun violence on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the plans, delivering his first major action on gun control since taking office.He’s also expected to nominate David Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control group Giffords…
read moreMoroccan authorities decided Wednesday to enforce a night-time curfew during the holy month of Ramadan because of a recent rise in COVID-19 cases, as scientists announced the discovery of a new, local variant of the virus.Many Moroccans voiced their anger over the decision on social networks, describing it as another blow to many businesses already…
read moreA New York social worker and psychotherapist says more is needed to address the pandemic’s impact on mental health, particularly among health care workers. More from VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo. …
read moreU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant originally identified in Britain is now the most common strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 circulating in the United States.During the White House COVID-19 response team briefing, Walensky said the variant has been shown to be more…
read moreThe U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) reports it is covering the cost of health insurance for an additional 20,000 Afghan refugees in Iran. This boosts the number of refugees to 120,000 who will be able to access medical care for COVID-19 and other illnesses under Iran’s national health plan. Iran hosts nearly 800,000 Afghan refugees. …
read moreThe U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Wednesday a clinical trial was under way to determine the risk of allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer. A press release from the NIH says the trial will determine whether people are highly allergic to the vaccine or have a disorder that puts…
read moreScores of Cameroonians with kidney failure and their relatives have blocked traffic since Monday around a Yaoundé hospital to protest a shortage of dialysis treatment. Cameroon authorities blame administrative procedures and coronavirus disruptions for slowing the import of dialysis machines and medicines. Traffic was at a standstill in Yaounde’s Melen neighborhood this week as hundreds of patients…
read moreThe race is on between COVID-19 vaccinations and the continuing evolution of coronavirus variants that threaten to undermine them.As vaccination ramps up in the United States and cases decline, people are letting their guard down, including those who are not vaccinated.But public health experts are urging people not to let loose just yet.The virus is…
read moreThe political dispute over a new election law in the southern state of Georgia has broadened into a debate over whether the United States should participate in a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price acknowledged the U.S. will discuss with allies whether to jointly boycott the…
read moreA clinical trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine involving young children and teenagers has been halted by Oxford researchers as British drug regulators conduct a safety review of the two-shot regimen.The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency are looking into a possible link between the vaccine and blood clots across the world, including several European…
read moreThe race is on between COVID-19 vaccinations and the continuing evolution of coronavirus variants that threaten to undermine them.As vaccination ramps up in the United States and cases decline, people are letting their guard down, including those who are not vaccinated.But public health experts are urging people not to let loose just yet.The virus is…
read moreAs the U.S. nears reaching its goal of vaccinating 200 million Americans by the end of April, the Biden administration is taking more steps toward helping other nations by appointing a coordinator for its global COVID-19 response. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story. …
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