Japan and France confirmed their first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus on Tuesday as countries around the world scrambled to close their doors or find ways to limit its spread while scientists study how damaging it might …
U.S. President Joe Biden says a highly transmissible COVID-19 variant, dubbed omicron, is a cause for “concern, not panic” and defended his much-criticized decision to restrict travel from the southern African region, where it was first reported. VOA’s Anita Powell …
The World Health Organization says renewed efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is needed as scientists scramble to determine the risks posed by the new omicron variant. Low vaccine rates combined with public fatigue over safety measures are …
Zimbabwe’s government says the country is very prepared to handle the new COVID-19 variant – omicron – first reported in neighboring South Africa. The World Health Organization says a fourth wave of the pandemic is most likely to hit Africa. …
The new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread. The U.K. on Saturday …
The United States praised South Africa on Saturday for quickly identifying the latest coronavirus variant, omicron, and sharing this information with the world. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with South Africa’s international relations and cooperation minister, Naledi Pandor, and …
Federal health regulators say an experimental COVID-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration posted …
France is willing to discuss autonomy for the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe if it is in the interests of the people who live there, government minister Sebastien Lecornu said. Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen …
The world’s largest vaccine maker, the Serum Institute of India has resumed exports of coronavirus vaccines to COVAX the partnership that is distributing vaccines to developing countries. The resumption of exports comes at a critical time when a new variant …
Anxious-looking travelers thronged Johannesburg international airport and stood in long queues on Friday, desperate to squeeze onto the last flights to countries that had just shut their doors to South Africa. Many cut short their holidays, rushing back from safaris …
Top U.S. infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said Friday that a ban on flights from southern Africa was a possibility and the United States was rushing to gather data on the new COVID-19 variant. No decision to halt flights …
South African scientists are scrambling to determine how quickly a newly discovered variant of the coronavirus can spread and if it is resistant to vaccines. The new strain has led Britain to reimpose flight bans on six southern African countries, …
Like many others in Europe, Switzerland is facing a steep rise in coronavirus cases. But its federal government, unlike others, hasn’t responded with new restrictive measures. Analysts say it doesn’t want to stir up more opposition to its anti-COVID-19 policies, …
With the Northern Hemisphere heading into winter and COVID-19 cases on the rise across Europe and North America, political leaders from Washington to Brussels are struggling to persuade a pandemic-weary public to get vaccinated against the disease that has killed …
A new report warns that Australia’s native wildlife is in the “grip of an unprecedented alien attack.” Experts at the national science agency, the CSIRO, are predicting that much of the country’s unique flora and fauna is in danger of …
An expedition to find lost shipwrecks on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef begins Friday. The voyage is part of the Great Reef Census, one of the world’s largest marine citizen science projects. Conservationists estimate there are up to 900 shipwrecks on …
European countries expanded COVID-19 booster vaccinations, began plans to get shots to young children and tightened some curbs Thursday as the continent battled a surge in coronavirus cases and concerns about its economic fallout grew. Slovakia went into a two-week …
NASA tests an asteroid-assaulting system to protect planet Earth. Plus, Japanese tourists ready for the trip of a lifetime, and a look at the historic, sky-darkening lunar eclipse. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space …
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says the wheat seeds it recently provided to farmers in northeast Syria meet “high standards for safety and quality.” The announcement comes after claims by the Syrian government that the seeds donated by …
“I could not understand how this highly educated, powerful trauma nurse is now the patient.” A registered nurse who asks that we call her “Gi” is talking about herself. While working in the emergency room of her community hospital at …
The U.S. space agency NASA has launched a spacecraft on a mission to test the ability to knock an asteroid off a potentially harmful collision course with Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will take 10 months to reach the …
CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for U.S. city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies …
The U.S. space agency, NASA, and its European counterpart, the European Space Agency (ESA), have delayed the long-awaited launch of the James Webb space telescope to no earlier than December 22. In statements, both agencies say the launch is being …
A SpaceX rocket was set to blast off from California late Tuesday as NASA seeks to demonstrate a first-of-its-kind planetary defense system, designed to deflect an asteroid from a potential doomsday collision with Earth. The DART mission will test NASA’s …