With hurricanes, floods and other impacts of climate change becoming increasingly destructive, countries urgently need to step up their ambitions to cut emissions if they are to keep global warming within safe limits, experts said ahead of U.N. climate talks …
Smog has enveloped much of Pakistan and neighboring India, causing highway accidents and respiratory problems, and forcing many residents to stay home, officials said Saturday. Pakistani meteorologist Mohammad Hanif said the pollution, caused by dust, the burning of crops, …
The World Health Organization says an outbreak of pneumonic plague in Madagascar appears to be slowing. But, it warns vigilance must be maintained as the spread of the disease is far from over. The World Health Organization says plague …
Pakistan is one of three nations in the world that still reports cases of polio. The other two are Afghanistan and Nigeria. But an ongoing effort is slowly making progress toward eradicating the disease. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
Nearly half of Hawaii’s coral reefs were bleached during heat waves in 2014 and 2015 and fisheries close to shore are declining, a group of scientists told state lawmakers. The scientists from the Nature Conservancy briefed the lawmakers Thursday about …
Almost every country in the world now has serious nutrition problems, either because of overeating leading to obesity or a lack of food leading to undernutrition, according to a major study published Saturday. Researchers behind the Global Nutrition Report, which …
The U.S. government on Friday released a report on climate change that said there was “no convincing alternative explanation” for global warming besides human causes. The National Climate Assessment, which the government is mandated by law to publish every four …
Life-threatening malnutrition rates are soaring among the children of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who fled Myanmar to escape violence, according to a nutritional assessment by the U.N. children’s fund. The recently conducted survey in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s …
With ever-dwindling space and resources available in overburdened Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, the government in Dhaka is boosting family planning measures and considering a voluntary sterilization plan. The efforts include hiring more staff, distributing birth control pills and …
A Chinese official on Friday disputed President Donald Trump’s claim that the deadly opioid fentanyl flooding the U.S. is mostly produced in China. China doesn’t deny that some fentanyl produced illicitly inside the country is contributing to the epidemic, Wei …
In the past 25 years, the world has made remarkable progress in saving the lives of young children, according to the latest report from the United Nations. In 1990, 35,000 children died every day; last year, 15,000 children and babies …
Over the past 25 years, the world has made remarkable progress in saving young children’s lives. For the first time ever, child deaths have fallen below the 6 million mark globally, but most of these deaths could be prevented according …
The World Health Organization says that since the beginning of August there have been about 1,800 cases of plague in Madagascar with 127 resulting in death. Bubonic plague is not uncommon in the island nation, but this year the population …
A new species of orangutan has been identified in remote Indonesian forests and immediately becomes the most endangered type of great ape in the world with just 800 individuals, scientists said on Thursday. The Tapanuli orangutan, found only in upland …
A first attempt at gene therapy for a disease that leaves babies unable to move, swallow and, eventually, breathe has extended the tots’ lives, and some began to roll over, sit and stand on their own, researchers reported Wednesday. Only …
“Like a monster, it destroys everything.” That’s how one school girl from a Pacific Island nation described a tsunami. On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude-9.1 earthquake in Indonesia set off a massive tsunami which killed more than 230,000 people across …
President Donald Trump’s commission on the opioid crisis called Wednesday for more drug courts, more training for doctors and penalties for insurers that dodge covering addiction treatment. The panel’s final report stopped short, however, of calling for new dollars …
Plenty of words have been written and spoken about climate change. But residents of Kolkata and other Indian cities are being given the opportunity to get to grips with the issue in a new way: via dance and music. Ekonama: …
A recent report by the World Health Organization and the World Bank says climate change and pollution are damaging the health of millions every year. Add to that the increasing impact of water scarcity, and the future is troubling for …
The smog-prone northern Chinese region of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei will set up a joint environmental protection agency in an effort to coordinate the region’s war on pollution, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday. The new agency, part of wider efforts …
California Governor Jerry Brown is continuing his international fight against climate change with an 11-day trip to Europe starting Saturday that includes stops at the Vatican and a U.N. conference in Germany. Brown is a chief adversary to Republican President …
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday he intends to replace the outside experts that advise him on science and public health issues with new board members holding more diverse views. In announcing the changes, EPA Administrator …
What killed off the Neanderthals? It’s a big debate, and now a study says that no matter what the answer, they were doomed anyway. Our close evolutionary cousins enjoyed a long run in Europe and Asia, but they disappeared …
The suburbs of Washington are the setting for a pilot project to promote healthier eating habits, a partnership between leaders of the Latino community there and researchers at George Washington University. The “Water up Project” encourages the community to drink …