China has approved its first domestically developed mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd 1093.HK said on Wednesday, a major achievement in a country that has declined to use Western COVID shots to support domestic research.  China, whose home-grown vaccines are seen as less effective than the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shots, has been racing to develop vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology since early 2020.  The long-awaited approval comes as infections have fallen sharply across China since it suddenly dropped its strict “zero-COVID” curbs in December, making the …

The U.N. secretary-general called for significant commitments and investment Wednesday to avert a growing global water crisis at the start of a major conference on the issue.   “Water is a human right — and a common development denominator to shape a better future,” Antonio Guterres told a packed General Assembly hall. “But water is in deep trouble.”   The three-day conference, which kicked off on World Water Day, is the first of its kind in 46 years. Activists and experts say the ongoing water crisis is a threat to …

Tanzania’s Ministry of Health has confirmed five people died in a first-ever Marburg virus outbreak near the border with Uganda. The virus causes a severe hemorrhagic fever and is deadlier than the related Ebola virus, which was first suspected in the deaths. Tanzanian health officials say they are working to contain the Marburg outbreak. Tanzania’s health minister, Ummy Mwalimu, said the mysterious and deadly outbreak in its northwest Kagera region was caused by the Marburg virus. Mwalimu announced at a Tuesday evening press briefing the government was intensifying efforts to …

As part of World Water Day, March 22, the United Nations is holding its first conference devoted to water issues since 1977. For VOA, Matt Dibble introduces us to a Native American engineering student who will share at that conference her tribe’s successful campaign to remove harmful dams in the Western United States. …