The Inter-American Development Bank pledged $1 billion Wednesday to help Central American and Caribbean nations fight the coronavirus pandemic.The IDB will devote the money to purchasing vaccines, strengthening national institutions distributing the shots and building immunization capacity.The pledge is in addition …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
President-elect Joe Biden’s Presidential Inaugural Committee announced measures Tuesday to protect public health during an inauguration that will take place in the midst of a coronavirus crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States. The committee …
A new, over-the-counter, at-home COVID test has been approved in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the announcement about the emergency use authorization of the “rapid” test on Tuesday. “Today’s authorization is a major milestone in diagnostic testing …
Doses of the first federally approved coronavirus vaccine were administered to front-line health care workers in the United States Monday. That signals what health officials call a significant turn in the fight against the virus that has claimed more than …
Zimbabwe authorities are being criticized for evicting hundreds of families of squatters amid the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling economy. Legal experts say the destruction of their homes in the capital this month, leaving many homeless in a rainy season, is …
The United States surpassed 300,000 recorded deaths from COVID-19 Monday — the same day the first American was vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes the disease. The grim number comes about two weeks after millions of Americans defied warnings to avoid …
Pressure is growing on the European Union to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after regulators in Britain, the United States and Canada gave the green light in recent days. Coronavirus cases are soaring across the continent, with extended lockdowns announced …
A narrow 96-kilometer-wide corridor from the Pacific Coast in Chile across the Andes mountain range and into Argentina in South America was treated Monday to views of the final total solar eclipse of 2020. A total solar eclipse occurs when the …
The Philippines aims to finalize negotiations with Sinovac Biotech this week to acquire 25 million doses of the Chinese company’s COVID-19 vaccine for delivery by March, a coronavirus taskforce official said on Monday.President Rodrigo Duterte, who has pursued warmer ties …
Daily records continue to tumble for COVID-19 cases and deaths in many parts of the world, forcing governments to impose restrictions or consider lockdowns to halt the spread of the coronavirus. In Europe, Germany is heading for a second lockdown starting …
Trump administration officials are expected to say this week whether the monarch butterfly, a colorful and familiar backyard visitor now caught in a global extinction crisis, should receive federal designation as a threatened species. Stepped-up use of farm herbicides, climate change …
As more countries approve a coronavirus vaccine, the urgent need for inoculation continues to grow with COVID-19 cases and deaths spiking to record highs in several countries. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Sunday that South Korea recorded a …
A Chinese space capsule bringing back the first moon rocks in more than four decades started its three-day return to Earth on Sunday.The Chang’e 5 lunar probe, which had been orbiting the moon for about a week, fired up four …
The U.S. has approved emergency use of the Pfizer–BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for Americans to start getting vaccinated within days. But public skepticism about the safety of the vaccine remains, with polls showing many adults say they won’t …