Democratic Republic of Congo’s Health Ministry has approved the use of a new Ebola vaccine to counter an outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever in its northeast that has killed four people, a spokesman said on Monday. “The non-objection was given. Now there’s a Medecins Sans Frontieres team that is arriving [in Congo] today to validate the protocol with the technical teams,” Jonathan Simba, a Health Ministry spokesman, said by telephone. The vaccine, known as rVSV-ZEBOV and developed by Merck, is not yet licensed but was shown to be highly protective against Ebola in clinical trials published last December. As of Friday, Congo had registered 52 total suspected cases, including two that have been confirmed, the World Health Organization spokesman in Congo, Eugene Kabambi, said by telephone, adding that the situation appears to be under control. Simba said that the details of the vaccination campaign would be announced after a meeting of the health ministry and its partners set to take place on Monday or Tuesday. A vaccination campaign would present logistical challenges in Congo’s isolated northeastern forests, including transporting and storing the vaccine in special containers at the required minus 80 degrees Celsius. …
‘Biofortified’ Seeds Can Help Combat Malnutrition
Scientists are helping to combat the world hunger crisis by breeding nutrient-packed crops that will fill stomachs and lessen the effects of malnutrition. It’s called biofortification. It sounds complicated, but the concept is simple: create smarter seeds that grow into more nutrient-dense staple crops than regular ones. Then distribute the seeds on a large scale to farmers in developing countries, so they can grow crops that are more nutritious. Seeds with more nutrients This is what researchers at HarvestPlus, a Washington-based nonprofit, have been doing on a large scale since 2003, feeding an estimated 20 million people in 30 countries. Their biofortified seeds pack one or more vital nutrients, such as iron, zinc and Vitamin A, said Bev Postma, HarvestPlus’ CEO. “It’s very important that the seeds are not just high in nutrition, but that they are still high-yielding, they are pest resistant, they are climate resistant — because these are the things a farmer still wants more,” she said. Deficiencies of these nutrients can leave people more vulnerable to illness and infections, and in extreme cases cause blindness and stunt growth. Children are especially affected. The organization’s research has found that many of these effects can be reversed in a matter of months once nutrient-packed foods are introduced into the local diet. 150 varieties of 12 staples HarvestPlus scientists have produced 150 varieties of 12 staple foods, including corn, beans, rice, lentils and wheat. In 2003, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave the organization a $25 million grant …
British Airways Is ‘Near-Full Operation’ After Computer Failure
British Airways passengers continue to face delays, cancellations, and overcrowding Sunday at Heathrow Airport as the airline reels from a computer failure. The airline said that all long-haul flights will continue Sunday, but to avoid further overcrowding, passengers will only be allowed to enter the airport terminal 90 minutes before their scheduled departure. Passengers should still expect delays and cancelations for shorter flights, British Airways chief executive Alex Cruz said, adding that the airline was at “near-full operation” Sunday. “I know this has been a horrible time for customers,” Cruz said, apologizing in a video statement posted online. The airline was forced to cancel flights Saturday at Heathrow and Gatwick airports as officials tried to fix a global computer failure. British Airways has not said what caused the glitch, but did report there is no evidence pointing to a cyber attack. The failure occurred on a particularly busy weekend in Britain, where a public holiday will be observed on Monday and when many children are starting their mid-term school breaks — prompting some stranded travelers to express their frustration on Twitter. British Airways has experienced other recent computer glitches. Passengers were hit with severe delays in July and September last year because of problems with the airline’s online check-in systems. …
Medical Tourism on the Rise in Turkey
Turkey is fast becoming a top destination for medical tourism. Tens of thousand of people a year are flocking to Istanbul and other Turkish cities for procedures ranging from gynecology to orthopedics to plastic surgery. Tan Cetin reports for VOA’s Turkish service from Istanbul. …
US Military Veterans Trying to ‘Cultivate Peace’ in Afghanistan, Where They Served
Saffron has long been one of the world’s most expensive spices. The saffron crocus that produces the spice grows mostly in parts of Europe, Iran and India. Now, a U.S. company seeking to “cultivate peace” is attracting attention to this historic spice and trying to develop new markets for saffron grown in Afghanistan. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Chicago. …
Report: Trump Tells ‘Confidants’ US Will Leave Paris Climate Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump has told “confidants,” including the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, that he plans to leave a landmark international agreement on climate change, the Axios news website reported Saturday, citing three sources with direct knowledge. On Saturday, Trump said in a Twitter post he would decide whether to support the Paris climate deal next week. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A source who has been in contact with people involved in the decision told Reuters that a couple of meetings were planned with chief executives of energy companies and big corporations and others about the climate agreement ahead of Trump’s expected announcement later in the week. It was unclear whether those meetings would still take place. “I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!” Trump tweeted on the final day of a Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Italy at which he refused to bow to pressure from allies to back the 2015 agreement. Six against one The summit of G-7 wealthy nations pitted Trump against the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they had hoped were long settled. Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, came under concerted pressure from the other leaders to honor the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions. Although he tweeted that he would make a decision next week, his …
From Bitcoin to Big Business, Blockchain Technology Goes Mainstream
Bitcoin, the controversial digital currency, recently made headlines for reaching a record high valuation of more than $2,700, but perhaps the bigger growth potential lies in blockchain. The technology behind bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies is being explored by more conventional companies and businesses. VOA’s Tina Trinh reports from New York. …
Alternative Therapy Uses Fish Skin for Burn Relief
It’s an old riddle: What is the human body’s largest organ? The answer, of course, is skin. And while it’s certainly tough, skin’s enemy is heat. Treating serious burns usually involves placing human or pig skin over the burn to help it heal. Doctors in Brazil are using a unique skin replacement that may also help the healing process. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
Study: Too Little Sleep Doubles Mortality in Those With Heart, Diabetes Risks
People with a common cluster of symptoms that puts them at increased risk of heart disease and diabetes are two times as likely to die as people without those risk factors if they get less than six hours of sleep per night. That was the finding of a new study conducted by researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association. So-called metabolic syndrome is marked by elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and excess fat around the waistline. A diagnosis of metabolic syndrome also includes a high body mass index (BMI), a measurement of a person’s weight relative to his height. People with a high BMI and other symptoms of metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. Study participants In the study, a group of 1,344 adults agreed to spend one night in a sleep clinic. Almost 40 percent of the participants were found to have at least three of the risk factors of metabolic syndrome. When the participants were followed up an average of 16 years later, 22 percent of them had died. Compared with those without metabolic syndrome, investigators found those with a cluster of heart disease and diabetes risk factors were 2.1 times more likely to have died of stroke if they slept less than six hours during their night in the lab. If they had slept more than six hours, those with metabolic syndrome were about 1½ times more …
Construction Begins in Chilean Desert on World’s Largest Telescope
Construction began in Chile on Friday on the European Extremely Large Telescope, which when completed will be the world’s largest optical telescope, some five times larger than the top observing instruments in use today. The size of the ELT has the potential to transform our understanding of the universe, say its backers, with its main mirror that will measure some 39 meters (43 yards) across. Located on a 3,000 meter-high mountain (9,800 feet) in the middle of the Atacama desert, it is due to begin operating in 2024. Spark the spotting of more planets Among other capabilities, it will add to and refine astronomers’ burgeoning discoveries of planets orbiting other stars, with the ability to find more smaller planets, image larger ones, and possibly characterize their atmospheres, a key step in understanding if life is present. “What is being raised here is more than a telescope. Here we see one of the greatest examples of the possibilities of science,” said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in a speech to mark the beginning of construction at the site. Dry air makes for near perfect conditions The dry atmosphere of the Atacama provides as near perfect observing conditions as it is possible to find on Earth, with some 70 percent of the world’s astronomical infrastructure slated to be located in the region by the 2020s. The ELT is being funded by the European Southern Observatory, an organization consisting of European and southern hemisphere nations. Construction costs were not available but the ESO has …
Genetic Testing Underway on Virus Behind New Ebola Outbreak
Tests are underway to determine the genetic sequence of the Ebola virus behind an outbreak in central Africa, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control researcher said Friday. Dr. Barbara Knust, an epidemiologist, told VOA’s Horn of Africa service that scientists are looking for “clues” about where this strain of Ebola originated and how to treat it. “That could help [us] understand how this virus is related to other viruses that have caused other Ebola outbreaks,” she said. The latest Ebola outbreak is in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a remote area near the border with the Central African Republic. The World Health Organization said that as of May 24, Ebola had killed four people in the area and the number of suspected cases stood at 44. The Ebola virus, which causes a type of hemorrhagic fever, killed more than 11,000 people across the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in 2014 and 2015. Resources ‘mobilized quickly’ Staff from the CDC, the WHO, the Congolese Ministry of Health and other agencies are in Congo’s Bas Uele province, working to contain the spread of the virus. Knust said the international response was going “fine.” “The responders involved in this outbreak very certainly are taking it seriously and the resources have been mobilized quickly,” she said. “At least at this point of time [it] appears that it was detected fairly early, although that information is forthcoming. There is some hope it will remain a limited outbreak.” …
Study Finds Mixed News About Bee Populations
There’s a glimmer of hope for the American bee population. But, according to a new study, the outlook for this critical insect is mostly grim. Researchers report a slowing of the rate of decline in the bee population over the past year, dropping to its lowest since 2011-2012. But, both commercial and small-scale beekeepers lost 33 percent of their honey bee colonies between April 2016 and April 2017. “While it is encouraging that losses are lower than in the past, I would stop short of calling this ‘good’ news,” said Dennis van Engelsdorp, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and project director for the Bee Informed Partnership, in a summary of the study. “Colony loss of more than 30 percent over the entire year is high,” he added. “It’s hard to imagine any other agricultural sector being able to stay in business with such consistently high losses.” Researchers point to many causes for the drop in bee populations, with parasites, particularly the varroa mite, and other diseases as the main culprits. Pesticides are also a factor, according to the study, particularly among commercial beekeepers. The researchers describes like a kind of synergy among all the causes that amount to worsening each individual problem. “This is a complex problem,” said Kelly Kulhanek, a graduate student in the UMD Department of Entomology who helped with the survey. “Lower losses are a great start, but it’s important to remember that 33 percent is still much higher than beekeepers deem …
US Economy Grows Slowly, But at Faster Pace Than First Thought
The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than first estimated during the first quarter of this year. The Commerce Department’s Friday report shows expansion at a 1.2 percent annual rate in January, February and March. That is nearly twice as fast as the preliminary estimate, but slower than the end of last year, and much more slowly than the 3 percent rate of expansion that the Trump administration says it will achieve. Officials routinely revise growth estimates as more complete data becomes available. Many experts say the economy is growing slowly because aging baby boomers are leaving the work force to retire, and productivity growth has been disappointingly slow. The chief economist of PNC Bank, Gus Faucher, says growth is “bouncing back” in the second quarter. Faucher says he expects the U.S. economic growth will bounce around somewhat and expand at a 2.3 percent rate this year. Faucher also expects the growth rate to be about the same next year. A separate report shows new orders for manufactured goods declined in April. The seven-tenths of a percent decrease followed several months of gains. …
Experts: Africa ‘Hemorrhaging’ Billions in Illicit Financial Flows
Africa loses an estimated $50 billion a year to illicit financial flows, leaving governments strapped for cash and dependent on development aid. The continent is “hemorrhaging” money because of the failure of countries to enact strong legislation to check money flows, says Rose Acha, Cameroon’s supreme state audit minister and secretary general of the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Instead, uncontrolled transactions are common. “Whatever the source of your money, we don’t know, but we welcome those who want to deposit money,” said Faison Winifred of Investment Fund, a local financial institution in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. “Why … do you discourage the person by asking where is your source of income? We encourage everybody who comes to deposit money. … There is no limit. Whatever amount you want to deposit, we like it.” Acha says smuggling and trafficking during illegal commercial activity constitute 65 percent of Africa’s financial hemorrhage, while criminal activities — which consist of using funds for illegal purposes, like financing organized crime and terrorism — come next with 30 percent. She says corruption and tax evasion account for the remaining 5 percent of the money lost. According to the United Nations High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows, Africa loses a staggering $50 billion annually. The panel says that is approximately double the amount of official development assistance Africa receives. African tax and audit experts, meeting this week in Yaounde, said the worst offender is Nigeria, with an illicit outflow of $157 billion from 2003 to …
МВФ очікує від України трансформації реформ у закони для подальшої співпраці – заява
Міжнародний валютний фонд узгодив з Києвом ключові елементи структурних реформ в Україні для подальшої співпраці, але потрібне оформлення реформ у конкретні законопроекти. Про це йдеться у звіті фонду за підсумками візиту місії до України 16-25 травня. «Було досягнуто добрий прогрес у взаєморозумінні з ключових елементів реформ, але подальша технічна робота необхідна у деяких сферах для трансформації реформ у законопроекти, які відповідають кінцевим цілям. Забезпечення підтримки парламентом цих законопроектів буде необхідним для завершення четвертого перегляду. МВФ у співпраці з іншими міжнародними партнерами буде тісно взаємодіяти з владою найближчими тижнями для просування вперед за програмою реформ», – сказав голова місії МВФ Рон ван Роден. Крім того, у фонді зазначили, що місія провела «плідні дискусії» з представниками влади щодо реформ, потрібних для поліпшення продуктивності, залучення інвестицій та зміцнення державних фінансів. «Фахівці МВФ пліч-о-пліч з іншими міжнародними партнерами тісно співпрацюватимуть з представниками влади всі наступні тижні, щоб підтримати поступ в реалізації реформ», – сказав голова місії МВФ. Також місія МВФ зробила прогноз зростання ВВП України на рівні понад 2% і інфляції – менш ніж 10% на кінець 2017 року. Востаннє місія МВФ працювала в Україні з 3 до 17 листопада 2016 року, а 3 квітня 2017 року Україні надали транш на 1 мільярд доларів 3 квітня 2017 року. У березні 2015 року між МВФ і Україною була затверджена чотирирічна програма розширеного фінансування на суму близько 17,5 мільярдів доларів США. Наразі, разом із нинішнім траншем, МВФ надав Україні за цією програмою близько 8 мільярдів 380 мільйонів доларів. Метою програми є відновлення економіки України, відновлення її незалежності від …
Expert: Empowering Women Would Help End World Hunger
Sunday is World Hunger Day, an annual reminder that millions of people around the world suffer from chronic hunger, despite abundant global food production. Persistent shortages of food in some regions are linked to deep-seated social inequities and long-term mismanagement. An expert tells VOA’s Zlatica Hoke that empowering women is key to ending world hunger. …
Illinois Company Among Hundreds Supporting NASA Mission to Mars
A budget proposal by the Trump administration in March outlines a commitment to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) effort to send astronauts to Mars. About $3.7 billion is earmarked for development of the Space Launch System and the Orion capsule, crucial parts of NASA’s effort to send humans deeper into space. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh explores the effort of contractors working on the project, united by the commitment to “boldly go” further into the final frontier. …
Rethinking the Future of Beauty Salons
Soon there will be no classic beauty salons in the United States. At least that’s what two Alexandria businessmen claim. Don and Jeff DeBolt, father and son, offer stylists an opportunity to become owners of “one man salons” by renting equipped salon studios. The prices start at three hundred dollars per week. Their experiment turned out to be a successful business. Today there are 300 Sola Salon Studios with over seven thousand professionals. Anush Avetisyan visited one of them. …
Gas Prices High, Going Higher in North Korea
While world attention has focused on Kim Jong Un’s recent missile tests, a monthlong surge in gasoline prices in Pyongyang is showing no signs of letting up, a puzzling problem that if allowed to drag on could be bad news for the North Korean economy. Prices have shot up to about $2.30 per kilogram, or about $6.44 a gallon, since mid-April, when prices were in the $1.25-30 range. That means North Korea now has some of the highest prices in the world for gasoline. For comparison, the price in April last year was about 80 cents per kilogram. The cause and extent of the surge remains a mystery. Traffic unaffected Officially, there has been no comment. There’s no obvious sign of less traffic on the streets, at least in Pyongyang, which is more affluent and developed than other North Korean cities. Taxis appear to be operating normally and have not raised their fares. The North’s by now pervasive market economy, which is tolerated by the ruling regime in exchange for its cut of the profits, has made fuel and the ability to transport goods and people so essential that demand for gasoline is not so sensitive to price. But many gas stations around the capital, if they are selling fuel at all, have been limiting who they sell it to and how much each customer can buy. The long queues and mad dashes to fill gas tanks and large plastic storage cans that marked the …
Lawsuit Contends GM Cheated on Diesel Truck Emissions Tests
Two truck owners have filed a class-action lawsuit against General Motors, alleging the company rigged diesel pickups to cheat government emissions tests. The suit was filed Thursday in federal court in Detroit, home of the country’s largest car builder. GM is accused of installing three devices on hundreds of thousands of trucks, allowing them to spew less pollution in tests than they would on the road, under real-life driving conditions. Plaintiffs Andrei Fenner of Mountain View, California, and Joshua Herman of Sulphur, Louisiana, said they wouldn’t have purchased, or wouldn’t have paid as much for, their vehicles — a 2011 GMC Sierra and a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado, respectively — had they been aware of the alleged rigging. The lawsuit also names the German-based Bosch company for allegedly working with GM to develop the devices. GM called the allegations “baseless,” while Bosch refused to comment on an outstanding legal matter. The price of GM shares fell about 2 percent Thursday on the news. GM is the latest automobile giant charged with trying to fix emissions tests. The U.S. Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler this week, claiming it used illegal software to fake emission test results on its diesel vehicles, and Germany’s Volkswagen paid billions of dollars after admitting it had cheated on government emissions tests. …
Images from NASA Probe Show Huge Cyclones on Jupiter
Scientists looking at the first pictures of the planet Jupiter sent by the NASA probe Juno were shocked at what they saw: monster cyclones, hundreds of kilometers wide, tearing across the planet’s north and south poles. The scientists said the poles are nothing like the planet’s familiar placid and colorful equatorial region. “That’s the Jupiter we’ve all known and grown to love,” Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute, an applied research and development organization in San Antonio, Texas, said in an article released Thursday in the journal Science. “And when you look from the pole, it looks totally different. … I don’t think anybody would have guessed this is Jupiter.” Bolton called the findings “Earth-shattering. Or, should I say, Jupiter-shattering.” Along with the fierce storms, the researchers saw a huge river of ammonia gas extending from Jupiter’s deep atmosphere down to its interior. They said they thought the ammonia might be part of what’s causing the huge storms. NASA launched Juno in 2011, and it reached Jupiter’s orbit last year. The scientists said Juno’s next fly-by would come in July, when it will take pictures of the planet’s trademark Great Red Spot — a huge, hurricane-like storm that experts say has been raging for hundreds of years. …
Reports: US Job Market Remains Strong; Merchandise Trade Deficit Gets Worse
New data Thursday paint a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. A report on the job market shows a slight increase in the number of people signing up for unemployment assistance last week. But the data also show that the number of people laid off remains at a low level consistent with a strong job market, where it has been for well over two years. Economists say strong employment data will encourage the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates at its next meeting in June. The U.S. unemployment rate will be updated late next week. A separate report shows the United States buys more merchandise abroad than it sells to foreigners. April’s trade gap was the second-worst in two years. The trade data could mean slower economic growth. Friday, experts will publish an update to the U.S. GDP for the first few months of this year. A survey of economists shows they expect it to decline slightly from the disappointing seven-tenths of a percent annual rate reported earlier. …
Hypersonic Space Plane May Soon Be a Reality
The next generation hypersonic space plane just took a big step toward reality as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced Boeing will “complete advanced design work” for the Experimental Spaceplane, XS-1. The goal of the project is to offer quicker access to low Earth orbit, decreasing the preparation time to launch from months to days. For example, in the case of the loss of a military or commercial satellite, the unmanned, reusable XS-1 could quickly be used to launch a replacement. “The XS-1 would be neither a traditional airplane nor a conventional launch vehicle, but rather a combination of the two, with the goal of lowering launch costs by a factor of 10 and replacing today’s frustratingly long wait time with launch on demand,” said Jess Sponable, DARPA program manager. According to DARPA, the XS-1 will be about the size of a business jet and take off vertically, propelled not by external boosters but by “self contained cryogenic propellants.” After reaching a suborbital altitude, the plane would launch an expendable upper stage that would be able to push a satellite into orbit. The plane would then return to Earth, landing like a plane. DARPA said the plane could then be reused “potentially within hours.” The XS-1 could fly as fast as Mach 10, DARPA said. The XS-1 is still years away from reality, with DARPA saying testing the plane’s engines on the ground slated for 2019. …
Trump Seeks to End Program for Older Jobless Americans
Nathan Singletary is beyond the traditional retirement age, but he’s only just beginning a new career — helping other low-income, unemployed Americans over age 55 find jobs. Singletary got his job through the half-century-old Senior Community Service Employment Program, a training and placement program underwritten by taxpayers aimed at putting older Americans back into the workforce. President Donald Trump says there are too few participants who find work that’s not paid for by the federal government. This week, he proposed deleting the $434 million program from the federal budget — a strike at a piece of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. “That would mean a great deal of hardship, for me and the people who come to us for help,” Singletary, 67, said last week from his desk at the AARP Foundation’s offices in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “It’s hard enough to find a job at this age.” He says a friend told him about Trump’s plan around the time the president celebrated his 100th day in office three miles down the Susquehanna River at the Ames Companies’ thriving wheelbarrow factory. There, Trump signed executive orders to “defend American workers and companies.” It’s part of Trump’s agenda to boost American workers through apprenticeships, fairer trade deals and other incentives for employers to create jobs here in the U.S. The seniors’ employment program that Trump proposes to eliminate provides part-time work at minimum wage. Participants have to live locally, have income close to or below the poverty level and …