Chinese state media says a lunar probe containing the first samples of moon rocks and soil since the moon missions of the 1970s has returned to Earth.Quoting China’s space agency, Xinhua news agency on Thursday said the capsule carrying the samples collected by the Chang’e-5 space probe landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region.With this mission, China became only the third country to have retrieved samples from the moon, following the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s.China Space Agency: Lunar Probe Successfully Lands on MoonProbe …

The Czech Republic Wednesday launched nationwide COVID-19 testing in hopes of slowing the spread of virus in the country, which, like much of Europe, has seen a surge of infections in recent weeks.The Czech Health Ministry is offering the free antigen tests at about 170 testing sites around the country. The antigen tests are cheaper and faster but somewhat less accurate than standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratory tests with results taking about 15 minutes. If someone tests positive, the ministry will administer a PCR test.The Health Ministry hopes to …

Air pollution has been listed as a contributing factor in the death of a nine-year-old British girl in 2013.After a two-week inquest, coroner Philip Barlow determined that Ella Kissi-Debrah of South London died of acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and exposure to air pollution.It is the first time that air pollution has been listed as a contributing cause of death in Britain, the BBC reported.Kissi-Debrah had been very sick for a long time and was more susceptible to air pollution.According to the BBC, Stephen Holgate, professor of immunopharmacology at the …

The United States is on the cusp of getting a second COVID-19 vaccine. Regulators with the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that its  preliminary analysis of a vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health confirmed its safety and effectiveness. US Gives Favorable Review to Second COVID-19 VaccinePositive FDA review of Moderna vaccine comes as US hospitals ramp up inoculations with shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech The report did reveal that four volunteers in the late-stage clinical trial developed Bell’s palsy, a condition that involves temporary paralysis …

The hunger relief organization Feeding America says more people are seeking help at food banks nationwide. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo. …

Ukrainian riot police used tear gas Tuesday to clear anti-lockdown protesters from the Maidan, Kyiv’s central square and backdrop for the 2014 popular uprising that toppled former President Viktor Yanukovych. Several thousand protesters, including small-business owners, rallied against a planned nationwide coronavirus lockdown slated for January 8 — a day after the widely celebrated Orthodox Christmas holiday. Police moved in to break up the demonstration as people began pitching tents on the square. The latest anti-lockdown uprising since April but the first to turn violent, Tuesday’s protests come amid signs of a worsening …