Monthly Archives: July 2021

Fossil Found in Canadian Mountains May Be Earliest Evidence of Animal Life 

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A scientist says fossils she collected from an ancient seabed in the mountains of northwestern Canada may be the earliest evidence of animal life on Earth ever discovered. In a study published Wednesday in the science journal Nature, Laurentian University geologist Elizabeth Turner detailed how she found fossilized three-dimensional structures that resemble modern sponge skeletons in thin sections of rocks taken from the remnants of a prehistoric ocean reef.Turner said the surrounding rock was 890 million years old, which would make the fossils she discovered about 350 million years older than …

Former US President Obama Purchases Minority Stake in NBA Africa

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Former U.S. president Barack Obama has purchased a minority share of NBA Africa, the National Basketball Association announced Tuesday.NBA Africa was established this year to oversee the league’s business activities on the continent.The NBA said in a statement that Obama is a strategic partner and would use any profits from the new entity to “fund Obama Foundation youth and leadership programs across Africa.”NBA Africa was created in May as a partnership between the NBA and the International Basketball Federation. The Basketball Africa League, the continent’s first professional basketball league featuring …

Asian American Olympians Discuss Facing Hate

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From racist slurs and gestures to harassment while working out in public, Asian Americans representing their country at the Olympics in Tokyo have recounted some of the discrimination they have faced in the United States. Sakura Kokumai is competing in karate, a sport being contested for the first time at the Olympics. She described in a May post on the Team USA website how a man at a park in California “verbally harassed me because of my race.” “It was my first experience with such an aggressive and obvious hate …

Olympic Champ Biles Withdraws from All-around Competition

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Simone Biles will not defend her Olympic title. The American gymnastics superstar withdrew from Thursday’s all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being. USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Wednesday that the 24-year-old is opting to not compete. The decision comes a day after Biles removed herself from the team final following one rotation because she felt she wasn’t mentally ready. Jade Carey, who finished ninth in qualifying, will take Biles’ place in the all-around. Carey initially did not qualify because she was the third-ranking American behind Biles and Sunisa Lee. International …

18 Workers Killed in India as Truck Rams into Bus

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Eighteen migrant laborers sleeping on a highway in northern India after their bus broke down died when a truck rammed into the vehicle, police said Wednesday.  At least 19 others were injured in the accident in Uttar Pradesh state, a senior police officer told reporters.  Most of the passengers were returning home to the eastern state of Bihar after working in the states of Punjab or Haryana.  The passengers got off the bus after its axle shaft broke and were sleeping next to it when a truck crashed into it …

Biden Administration Wants to Require Businesses to Disclose Ransomware Attacks

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The Biden administration is throwing its support behind congressional legislation that would require companies to report major data breaches by hackers, including the ransomware attacks that are increasingly targeting U.S. critical infrastructure. “The administration strongly supports congressional action to require victim companies to report significant breaches, including ransomware attacks,” Richard Downing, a deputy assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. “In particular, such legislation should require covered entities to notify the federal government about ransomware attacks, cyber incidents that …

As Britain Reopens, Scientists Warn of Fertile Ground for Coronavirus Variants

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As Britons celebrate the lifting of coronavirus lockdown restrictions earlier this month, some scientists warn that the country risks becoming a breeding ground for new variants of the virus that could be more resistant to vaccines.Most restrictions were removed July 19, including social distancing regulations and the compulsory wearing of face masks. Indoor venues such as nightclubs reopened for the first time since March 2020.For many young people in Britain, the changes marked the return of longed-for socializing and partying, a chance to forget the misery of lockdown.“We’ve been the …

US Gymnast Simone Biles Withdraws From Teams Finals in Day of Olympic Upsets, Setbacks and Surprises

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Tuesday’s slate of competitions at the Tokyo Olympics has been filled with a number of stunning defeats and setbacks over a variety of events.One of the biggest shocks of the day came when U.S. gymnast Simone Biles, seeking to burnish her already legendary career, withdrew from the overall team finals after failing to execute her planned maneuver in the vault and stumbling backward on her landing. She then briefly left the floor with her coach, then returned to rejoin her teammates with her ankle wrapped in a bandage.”Simone Biles has …

CDC to Recommend Indoor Masks Again, Even for Some Vaccinated People

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to recommend that vaccinated people in parts of the country wear masks while indoors, reversing a decision it made two months ago.Federal officials with knowledge of the decision told news agencies the CDC is expected to make the announcement later Tuesday, based on surging numbers of new cases in regions with low vaccination rates.   The rising caseload is driven by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.  There has also been a rise in cases …

Weightlifter Guryeva Wins Turkmenistan’s 1st Olympic medal

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Sparsely populated and isolated from most of the outside world, Turkmenistan has finally won its first Olympic medal since independence from the Soviet Union.Weightlifter Polina Guryeva won a silver medal for the Central Asian nation at the Tokyo Games on Tuesday, and then predicted she would go down in the country’s history.”I was in shock because it’s the first Olympic medal in the history of the Turkmen people. It’s the first medal, which I won. No sport in Turkmenistan has had a medal, not one medal,” the 21-year-old Guryeva said. …

WHO: E-Cigarettes Threaten Fight Against Global Tobacco Use

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The World Health Organization warns e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine and tobacco products threaten progress in the fight against tobacco use across the globe. Many countries are making progress in adopting tobacco control measures to get their populations to quit smoking or to dissuade them from starting to smoke.  But a new World Health Organization report finds governments are no match for the tobacco industry.  For the first time, the WHO is presenting new data on electronic delivery systems, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.  The head of WHO’s Tobacco Control Program, …

German Officials Warn of ‘Extreme Danger’ After Chemical Plant Explosion

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German officials Tuesday asked residents in the west-central city of Leverkusen to stay in their homes and close their windows and doors after an explosion at a chemical plant. Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance issued a warning of “extreme danger” following the explosion early Tuesday at the Chempark industrial site in Leverkusen, just outside Cologne. Officials were concerned about air quality in the vicinity following the blast, which they say occurred in an area of the park where waste is incinerated. Pictures posted to social media …

Cities Unprepared for Intense, Frequent Heat Waves

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As the world braces for more intense heat waves fueled by climate change this summer, urban centers across the world are unprepared to face these brutal natural disasters.Several countries in the FILE – In this June 26, 2021, photo, paramedics respond to a heat exposure call at a cooling center during a heat wave in Salem, Ore.Urban islands of heatCities can run several degrees hotter than nonurban environments. This effect, known as an urban heat island, puts city dwellers at more risk during hot weather. Asphalt in pavement and roof …

Upset Victories in Swimming, Women’s Tennis Mark Day 7 of Tokyo Olympics  

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The Tokyo Olympics got off to a busy start Tuesday at the Tokyo Aquatics Center with a trio of high-profile finals in the men’s and women’s swimming.   In the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, the highly anticipated race between Lilly King of the United States, who won the event in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa ended in an upset when Lydia Jacoby, King’s 17-year-old teammate, edged both women to win the gold. Schoenmaker finished in second place to win the silver medal while King ended in third, taking home …

Chinese Pair Outduels Russians to Win Mixed Team Pistol Gold

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China’s Jiang Ranxin and Pang Wei out-dueled their Russian rivals in a riveting contest to secure gold in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.  The Chinese pair scored a 16-14 victory against newly minted women’s Olympic champion Vitalina Batsarashkina and Artem Chernousov at the Asaka Shooting Range.  Jiang and Pang, bronze winners in their individual events in Tokyo, overcame an 8-4 deficit to lead 14-10 before the Russians staged a comeback to level the scores.  The Chinese shooters, however, held their nerve to reach the 16-point mark and claim gold.  Russian …

Duffy Earns Bermuda’s First Gold With Triathlon Victory

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Bermuda has been sending athletes to the Olympics since 1936. Until Tuesday, the Atlantic island’s highest honor was a bronze medal won 45 years ago. Flora Duffy changed that in just less than two hours, swimming, cycling and running through the wind and rain around Tokyo Bay to win the Olympic women’s triathlon for Bermuda’s first gold medal. A self-governing British overseas territory with a population of less than 65,000, Bermuda has two athletes competing in Tokyo: Duffy and men’s rower Dara Alizadeh. It is the smallest contingent Bermuda has ever sent to the …

At Tokyo Olympics, Skateboarding Teens Blaze Trail for Women

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On the Olympic podium stood three teenage girls — 13, 13 and 16 — with weighty gold, silver and bronze medals around their young necks, rewards for having landed tricks on their skateboards that most kids their age only get to see on Instagram.After decades in the shadows of men’s skateboarding, the future for the sport’s daring, trailblazing women suddenly looked brighter than ever at the Tokyo Games on Monday.It’s anyone’s guess how many young girls tuned in to watch Momiji Nishiya of Japan win the debut Olympic skateboarding event …

US Stage Late Comeback Over Japan in Tune-up Before Gold Match

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The United States beat Japan 2-1 on Monday in an inconsequential game to end round-robin play.But the U.S. team’s failure to record a hit against a third-string Japanese pitcher until the sixth inning demonstrated the challenge it faces in the gold-medal matchup between the two teams.U.S. batters did race their way into three hits and a run against Yamamoto Fujita in the sixth, and Kelsey Stewart shot a tie-breaking homer to end the game an inning later.But, as United States’ 3-1 loss to Japan in the Beijing 2008 finals showed, …

Epidemics Don’t Have to Happen, Expert Says

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The number of known deaths from COVID-19 has passed 4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking both cases and deaths. In the past 100 years, there have been flu and cholera epidemics, the AIDS epidemic and multiple other diseases around the world. VOA’s Carol Pearson says the latest research shows many epidemics either don’t have to happen or can be contained. …

Pentagon China Expert Sworn In on Way to Singapore

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On a military aircraft high above the Pacific Ocean en route to Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin swore in one of the Biden administration’s leading experts on China as the newest assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security.   For the past six months, Ely Ratner led the department’s China task force, which reviewed where the Pentagon stood in its efforts on Beijing. Austin called it “magnificent piece of work” that fueled future policy plans.     “I’m excited about having Ely firmly in the seat in this position,” …

Only Tokyo Could Pull Off These Games? Not Everyone Agrees

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Staging an Olympics during the worst pandemic in a century? There’s a widespread perception that it couldn’t happen in a better place than Japan. A vibrant, open democracy with deep pockets, the host nation is known for its diligent execution of detail-laden, large-scale projects, its technological advances, its consensus-building and world-class infrastructure. All this, on paper, at least, gives the strong impression that Japan is one of the few places in the world that could even consider pulling off the high-stakes tightrope walk that the Tokyo Games represent. Some in …

Madrid’s Retiro Park, Prado Avenue Join World Heritage List

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Madrid’s tree-lined Paseo del Prado boulevard and the adjoining Retiro park have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list.The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, holding an online meeting from Fuzhou, China, backed the candidacy on Sunday that highlighted the green area’s introduction of nature into Spain’s capital. The influence the properties have had on the designs of other cities in Latin America was also applauded by committee members.”Collectively, they illustrate the aspiration for a utopian society during the height of the Spanish Empire,” UNESCO said.The Retiro park occupies 1.2 square kilometers …

Fauci Sounds New Virus Warnings

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, sounded new alarms Sunday about the surge in coronavirus cases in the country, especially in regions where people have been resistant to getting vaccinated even as the delta variant spreads rapidly.“We’re going in the wrong direction,” Fauci said on CNN’s “State of the Union” show. “Fifty percent of the country is not vaccinated. That’s a problem.”“We’re putting ourselves in danger,” said Fauci, the top medical adviser to President Joe Biden.In the United States, hospitalizations and deaths are far below their peaks …