One of the takeaways from this year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow is that much of the world is actively planning for a world without oil and coal. But as Jessica Stone reports, some of the world’s worst polluters, at least for now, need fossil fuels. Video editor – Keith Lane. …

This week, space junk threatens the International Space Station, forcing four new arrivals who came on board to take safety measures. Plus, tragedy befalls a space tourist, and the longest partial lunar eclipse in nearly 600 years. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …

Someday soon, drivers entering downtown Manhattan can expect to pay for the pollution and traffic jams they cause. Congestion pricing is a way that places such as Stockholm and Singapore are trying to unclog streets and clean up their air by making it more expensive for drivers to bring dirty vehicles into town. With traffic bringing many cities to a standstill, air pollution killing an estimated 4 million people per year, and concerns about climate change growing, interest in finding ways to clean up transportation is increasing worldwide. Economists love …

Australian public health experts are making new efforts to curb the use of tobacco products, comparing its adverse effects on health to that of asbestos and lead paint.   Australia has led the world on tobacco control, with plain packaging laws introduced in 2012, higher taxes and graphic public health warnings.  But campaigners say those steps are not enough to stop people from smoking. Public health experts want to remove cigarettes from supermarket and convenience store shelves.    Fourteen percent of Australians smoke, according to the government’s latest figures.  In 1977, 37% of Australians smoked. In an article published Monday in The Medical Journal of Australia, researchers said tobacco use …

The White House says about 10% of eligible kids aged 5 to 11 have received a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine since its approval for their age group two weeks ago. At least 2.6 million kids have received a shot, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday, with 1.7 million doses administered in the last week alone, roughly double the pace of the first week after approval. It’s more than three times faster than the rate adults were vaccinated at the start of the nation’s vaccination campaign 11 …