New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a vaccine mandate for city workers Wednesday. The order calls for employees, including police officers and firefighters, to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by October 29 or else they will be placed on unpaid leave. The mayor’s office said the mandate applies…
read moreAuthors of a new report on Africa’s climate warn the continent is heating up more and faster than other regions in the world, and they said Africa needs immediate financial and technological assistance to adapt to the warming environment. The African continent is home to 17% of the global population but is responsible for less…
read moreThe Israeli Antiquities Authority said Tuesday that a diver swimming in the Mediterranean Sea has recovered a large sword that experts believe to be about 900 years old, dating back to the Crusades. The antiquities authority’s Director of Marine Archaeology, Kobi Sharvit, said the amateur diver was swimming about 150 meters offshore near the Israeli…
read moreU.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said final congressional passage of the Biden administration’s major infrastructure plan comes down to “a fundamental issue” of the lack of water brought on by climate change. Harris made the comments Monday during a visit to Lake Mead, a man-made reservoir near the gambling and tourist destination city of Las Vegas,…
read moreAs a legal battle plays out in the courts, the Biden administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a Texas law that bans most abortions in the state. The Justice Department asked the high court Monday to reverse a decision by an appeals court that allows the law to remain in effect while…
read moreThe United Nations announced Monday that a nationwide house-to-house polio vaccination campaign in conflict-torn Afghanistan will recommence next month and hailed the new Taliban government for agreeing to lift a ban on such drives. Afghanistan is one of two countries in the world, along with neighboring Pakistan, where the highly infectious and incurable disease continues…
read moreAfter Cyclone Idai hit in 2019, some Zimbabweans turned to activities like illegal gold panning to survive. Now Voluntary Service Overseas, an international development charity, is giving them a new option – bee keeping. As Columbus Mavhunga reports from the town of Chimanimani, life has turned sweet for one Zimbabwean because of the honey from…
read moreU.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel Monday to Lake Mead to promote the Biden administration’s climate crisis strategy and urge passage of a major infrastructure plan. The man-made reservoir near the gambling and tourist destination city of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a major source of water for seven Western U.S. states and northern Mexico. Harris will hear from local, state and federal officials…
read moreThe first new Alzheimer’s treatment in more than 20 years was hailed as a breakthrough when regulators approved it more than four months ago, but its rollout has been slowed by questions about its price and how well it works. Several major medical centers remain undecided on whether to use Biogen’s Aduhelm, which is recommended…
read moreAn obstacle to large-scale bitcoin mining is finding enough cheap energy to run the huge, power-gobbling computer arrays that create and transact cryptocurrency. One mining operation in central New York came up with a novel solution that has alarmed environmentalists: It uses its own power plant. Greenidge Generation runs a once-mothballed plant near the shore of…
read moreThree astronauts successfully docked with China’s new space station on Saturday on what is set to be Beijing’s longest crewed mission to date and the latest landmark in its drive to become a major space power. The three blasted off shortly after midnight (1600 GMT Friday) from the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China’s Gobi…
read moreThe U.S. space agency, NASA, is preparing to launch a craft Saturday to boldly go to a part of space never visited before — the asteroids of Jupiter. The spacecraft Lucy is set to take off before dawn Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is embarking on a 12-year mission during which it will travel…
read moreA panel of U.S. health advisers has recommended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize a second shot of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for anyone who has received the single-dose inoculation. The panel expressed concerns Friday that Americans who received the shot are not as protected as those who were given a two-dose vaccination…
read moreRecent studies indicate Canada’s decision to extend the interval between the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines can actually lead to increased resistance to the virus. It also finds mixing the brand and type of doses gives better protection. The decision by Canadian authorities to immunize as many people as possible with any available…
read moreThe American Red Cross says it is facing a blood shortage. Officials say there have less than a day’s supply of certain blood types. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …
read moreThe United States announced Friday an additional 9.6 million doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are being shipped to Pakistan through the global vaccine-sharing COVAX initiative. The shipment brings to more than 25 million the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by Washington to the Pakistani people, said the American Embassy in Islamabad. “The United States is proud…
read moreRecent polls have shown that U.S. President Joe Biden’s standing with the American public is entwined with the state of the pandemic in the country. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has more. …
read moreAttention asteroid aficionados: NASA is set to launch a series of spacecraft to visit and even bash some of the solar system’s most enticing space rocks. The robotic trailblazer named Lucy is up first, blasting off this weekend on a 12-year cruise to swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter — unexplored time capsules from the…
read moreThe World Health Organization’s endorsement of the world’s first malaria vaccine marks a major advance against the mosquito-borne illness, which kills some 265,000 children in Africa annually. Bitrus Yusuf pours syrup into a measuring cup to give to his three-year-old daughter and grandson who are sick with malaria. He said the mosquito-borne parasite that causes…
read moreVictoria state has Thursday reported 2,297 new local COVID-19 cases — the highest number of daily infections recorded by any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began. But as infections surge, authorities hope to lift a lockdown in Melbourne within days when vaccination rates reach 70%. A 107-day lockdown in Sydney, the New South…
read moreCOVID-19 cases among U.S. service members have been on a steady decline over the last month, as more service members have become vaccinated ahead of the Defense Department’s fast-approaching vaccination compliance deadlines. The number of cases reached 4,902 the week of Sept. 8 but dropped to 863 cases last week, the military’s lowest number of…
read moreFinance ministers from the Group of 20 economies Wednesday pledged to keep economic stimulus policies in place to ensure a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid ongoing risks, “We will continue to sustain the recovery, avoiding any premature withdrawal of support measures,” according to the official communique released after the G-20 meeting. While the global…
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