China has suspended cross-border freight train services with North Korea following consultations after COVID-19 infections in its border city of Dandong, the foreign ministry said Friday. The suspension came within four months after North Korea eased border lockdowns enforced early in 2020 against the coronavirus, measures global aid groups have blamed for its worsening economic woes and risks to food supplies for millions. “Due to the COVID situation in Dandong, after friendly consultation between both sides, China has decided to suspend freight services from Dandong to Sinuiju,” foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily briefing in Beijing. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said authorities in Dandong had acted on a request from North Korea, citing unidentified sources. Authorities in Seoul, the capital of neighboring South Korea, said they were keeping watch on the situation. The Chinese city of Dandong has been fighting a COVID-19 outbreak since late April, reporting 220 infections from April 24-27. By Wednesday, authorities had locked down 77 residential compounds, while people elsewhere were asked to keep to designated areas. North Korea has not officially reported any COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began but adopted border curbs among its anti-virus measures. …
New NASA Spacecraft Nearly Ready for Asteroid Mission
After years of preparation and testing, a new NASA spacecraft is almost ready for its mission to an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists hope the journey will uncover clues into the origins of Earth. For VOA, Villafañe visited NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to see the spacecraft and speak with mission investigators. …
Google Adds Ways to Keep Personal Info Private in Searches
Google has expanded options for keeping personal information private from online searches. The company said Friday it will let people request that more types of content such as personal contact information like phone numbers, email and physical addresses be removed from search results. The new policy also allows the removal of other information that may pose a risk for identity theft, such as confidential log-in credentials. The company said in a statement that open access to information is vital, “but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private.” “Privacy and online safety go hand in hand. And when you’re using the internet, it’s important to have control over how your sensitive, personally identifiable information can be found,” it said. Google Search earlier had permitted people to request that highly personal content that could cause direct harm be removed. That includes information removed due to doxxing and personal details like bank account or credit card numbers that could be used for fraud. But information increasing pops up in unexpected places and is used in new ways, so policies need to evolve, the company said. Having personal contact information openly available online also can pose a threat and Google said it had received requests for the option to remove that content, too. It said that when it receives such requests it will study all the content on the web page to avoid limiting availability of useful information or of content …
South Korea to End Outdoor Mask Mandate
South Korea said Friday it will lift its outdoor mask mandate next week in response to a steady drop in COVID-19 cases after an omicron-fueled surge. The announcement comes after Seoul dropped almost all other social-distancing measures earlier this month, ending two years of strict requirements that put a massive strain on the country’s small businesses. From Monday, residents will no longer be required to wear face masks outdoors unless attending an event with more than 50 participants, health authorities said. “As social-distancing measures are lifted and the mask mandate is being adjusted, people are increasingly returning to their normal lives,” Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), told reporters. “This is all thanks to the patience and cooperation of the people over a long period of time,” Jeong added. South Korea’s incoming administration, headed by conservative president-elect Yoon Suk-y, on Friday criticized the decision to end the mask mandate as “premature,” questioning if it had been based solely on “virus prevention measures.” Ahn Cheol-soo, chief of Yoon’s transition team, had previously said the new government planned to make a decision on the mandate in May. South Korea reported 50,568 new coronavirus cases Friday, well down from the peak of more than 620,000 a day in mid-March. The KDCA’s Jeong said there had been a “steady decrease” in COVID-19 cases for the past six weeks. “The number of new critically ill patients is also decreasing,” she said, adding hospitals had enough beds to treat new inpatients. …
This Week: SpaceX Station Swap and Midair Rescue You Have to See
Mission accomplished for the latest SpaceX and NASA trip to the International Space Station. Plus, the first-ever all-private charter to the ISS ends and … see what it looks like to catch a four-story rocket out of the sky. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
US Plan to Ban Menthol Tobacco Products Moves Forward
Menthol cigarettes and other menthol tobacco products may soon be things of the past, according to an announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday saying authorities are moving forward on a plan to ban them. It could still be years before the products are removed from stores. “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. Advocates for banning menthol tobacco products have long said they disproportionately impact African Americans, among whom they’re popular. It is estimated that 85% of African American smokers use menthol products. “Black folks die disproportionately of heart disease, lung cancer and stroke,” said Phillip Gardiner of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. “Menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars are the main vectors of those diseases in the Black and brown communities and have been for a long time.” Experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center say menthol cigarettes are more dangerous than regular cigarettes because their minty flavoring masks the harshness of tobacco smoke, allowing for deeper inhalation and possibly more intense smoking habits. They also say more than half of smokers between the ages of 12 and 17 use menthol tobacco products. Some states such as California and Massachusetts have already banned menthol tobacco products. Members of the public will be allowed to give their input on the proposed ban until July 5, after which the FDA will finalize a …
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Surging in Africa Due to COVID-19 Disruptions
The World Health Organization warns that vaccine-preventable diseases are spreading across the African continent because routine immunizations against killer diseases have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tens of millions of people have missed out on routine immunization services. That not only puts their lives at risk from potentially deadly diseases but creates an environment in which killer diseases can thrive and spread. Benido Impouma, director for communicable and noncommunicable diseases in the World Health Organization’s regional office for Africa, said the pandemic has put a huge strain on health systems. It has impaired routine immunization services in many African countries and forced the suspension of vaccination drives. Over the past year, he said, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have increased across the continent. “For instance, between January and March of this year, around 17,000 cases of measles were recorded. This is a 400 percent increase compared with the same period last year,” Impouma said. “Twenty-four countries in our region confirmed outbreaks of a variant of polio last year, which is four times more than in 2020.” He noted that outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases, such as yellow fever, also are surging. The World Health Organization and UNICEF recently issued a report warning of a heightened risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. They attribute it in large part to increasing inequalities in access to vaccines due to pandemic-related disruptions. They expressed particular concern about a worldwide spike in measles cases, which have increased by 79 percent in the first two months of this …
New Kenyan Fish Marketing App Aims to Reduce Sexual Exploitation of Women Fishmongers
An application developed in Kenya to improve the marketing of fish caught in Lake Victoria is helping women fishmongers fend off sex-for-fish exploitation by fishermen. The Aquarech app allows traders to buy fish without having to negotiate with fishermen – as Ruud Elmendorp reports from Kisumu, Kenya. Videographer: Ruud Elmendorp Produced by: Henry Hernandez …
‘Pandemic Phase’ Over for US, but COVID-19 Still Here, Fauci Says
Dr. Anthony Fauci has given an upbeat assessment of the current state of the coronavirus in the United States, saying the country is “out of the pandemic phase” with regard to new infections, hospitalizations and deaths, and that it appears to be making a transition to COVID-19 becoming an endemic disease — occurring regularly in certain areas. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, said on the PBS NewsHour on Tuesday that the coronavirus remains a pandemic for much of the world. The threat is not over for the United States, he said, adding that he was speaking about the worst phase of the pandemic. “Namely, we don’t have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now,” he said. In comments Wednesday to The Washington Post, however, Fauci seemed to clarify his earlier remarks, saying that unlike the “full-blown, explosive pandemic phase” during the brutal winter omicron surge, he was describing what appears to be a period of transition toward COVID-19 becoming an endemic disease. “The world is still in a pandemic. There’s no doubt about that. Don’t anybody get any misinterpretation of that. We are still experiencing a pandemic,” Fauci told the Post. His comments came as health authorities wrestle with how to keep COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations manageable and learn to live with what’s still a mutating and unpredictable virus. The Biden administration has stressed that the nation has …
Major Japan Railway Now Powered Only by Renewable Energy
Tokyo’s Shibuya is famed for its Scramble Crossing, where crowds of people crisscross the intersection in a scene symbolizing urban Japan’s congestion and anonymity. It may have added another boasting right. Tokyu Railways’ trains running through Shibuya and other stations were switched to power generated only by solar and other renewable sources starting April 1. That means the carbon dioxide emissions of Tokyu’s sprawling network of seven train lines and one tram service now stand at zero, with green energy being used at all its stations, including for vending machines for drinks, security camera screens and lighting. Tokyu, which employs 3,855 people and connects Tokyo with nearby Yokohama, is the first railroad operator in Japan to have achieved that goal. It says the carbon dioxide reduction is equivalent to the annual average emissions of 56,000 Japanese households. Nicholas Little, director of railway education at Michigan State University’s Center for Railway Research and Education, commends Tokyu for promoting renewable energy but stressed the importance of boosting the bottom-line amount of that renewable energy. “I would stress the bigger impacts come from increasing electricity generation from renewable sources,” he said. “The long-term battle is to increase production of renewable electricity and provide the transmission infrastructure to get it to the places of consumption.” The technology used by Tokyu’s trains is among the most ecologically friendly options for railways. The other two options are batteries and hydrogen power. And so is it just a publicity stunt, or is Tokyu moving in the right …
Musk’s Twitter Ambitions Likely to Collide with Europe’s Tech Rules
A hands-off approach to moderating content at Elon Musk’s Twitter could clash with ambitious new laws in Europe meant to protect users from disinformation, hate speech and other harmful material. Musk, who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist,” pledged to buy Twitter for $44 billion this week, with European Union officials and digital campaigners quick to say that any focus on free speech to the detriment of online safety would not fly after the 27-nation bloc solidified its status as a global leader in the effort to rein in the power of tech giants. “If his approach will be ‘just stop moderating it,’ he will likely find himself in a lot of legal trouble in the EU,” said Jan Penfrat, senior policy adviser at digital rights group EDRi. Musk will soon be confronted with Europe’s Digital Services Act, which will require big tech companies like Twitter, Google and Facebook parent Meta to police their platforms more strictly or face billions in fines. Other crackdowns Officials agreed just days ago on the landmark legislation, expected to take effect by 2024. It’s unclear how soon it could spark a similar crackdown elsewhere, with U.S. lawmakers divided on efforts to address competition, online privacy, disinformation and more. That means the job of reining in a Musk-led Twitter could fall to Europe — something officials signaled they’re ready for. “Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules — regardless of their shareholding,” Thierry Breton, …
Elon Musk Quest to Scrap Deal Over 2018 Tweets is Rejected
Elon Musk’s request to scrap a settlement with securities regulators over 2018 tweets claiming he had the funding to take Tesla private was denied by a federal judge in New York. Judge Lewis Liman on Wednesday also denied a motion to nullify subpoenas of Musk seeking information about possible violations of his settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk had asked the court to throw out the settlement, which required that his tweets be approved by a Tesla attorney. The SEC is investigating whether the Tesla CEO violated the settlement with tweets last November asking Twitter followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. The whole dispute stems from an October 2018 agreement with the SEC in which Musk and Tesla each agreed to pay $20 million in civil fines over Musk’s tweets about having the money to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The funding was far from secured and the electric vehicle company remains public, but Tesla’s stock price jumped. The settlement specified governance changes, including Musk’s ouster as board chairman, as well as pre-approval of his tweets. Musk attorney Alex Spiro contended in court motions that the SEC was trampling on Musk’s right to free speech. …
Google Investment to Help Solve Africa’s Tech Problems
California-based Google wants to get a bigger share of Africa’s growing online population, which is expected to top 800 million by 2030. The internet search giant announced this month it is setting up its first product development center on the continent, to be based in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. It is scheduled to open next year and will employ more than 100 people. Charles Murito, head of government affairs and public policy for sub-Saharan Africa at Google, said the investment will create many opportunities within Africa’s tech sector. “The product development center is going to be one that works to create transformative products and services for people right here on the continent, as well as creating a product for the rest of the world,” he said. “So the announcement last week was really just a kick-off in terms of the hiring process for the people that are going to be working in this product development center for Africa. And that will include roles such as product managers, UX designers and researchers, and engineers, and this is really a starting point of the work we are going to be doing.” The multinational technology company said its mission is to make the world’s information universally accessible and create a product that works well for Africans. Bitange Ndemo, former principal secretary of Kenya’s information, communication, and technology ministry, said the government needs to train more of its youth to benefit from the Google center. “It’s a wonderful investment in the sense …
WHO: Congo Starts Ebola Vaccinations to Stem Outbreak in Northwest
The Democratic Republic of Congo has kicked off Ebola vaccinations to stem an outbreak in the northwest city of Mbandaka, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. Two people are known to have died so far in the city of over one million inhabitants where people live in close proximity to road, water and air links to the capital Kinshasa. The first death occurred on April 21 and the second on Tuesday, marking the central African country’s 14th Ebola outbreak. Around 200 doses of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine have been shipped to Mbandaka from the eastern city of Goma, with more to be delivered in coming days, the WHO said in a statement. So far 233 contacts have been identified and are being monitored, it added. Three vaccination teams are on the ground and will focus on reaching all people at high risk. “With effective vaccines at hand and the experience of the Democratic Republic of the Congo health workers in Ebola response, we can quickly change the course of this outbreak for the better,” WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said in the statement. Congo’s equatorial forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus, which was discovered near the Ebola River in northern Congo in 1976. The country has seen 13 previous Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2018-2020 in the east that killed nearly 2,300 people, the second highest toll recorded in the history of the hemorrhagic fever. The most recent ended in December in the east …
US Laboratory Innovating Electronic Vehicle Technology
Many of the technological advances in lithium ion batteries that now power many electric vehicles began in a laboratory just outside Chicago’s city limits decades ago. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports on new innovations at Argonne National Laboratory preparing for the next-generation needs of drivers. Camera: Kane Farabaugh, Mike Burke Produced by: Kane Farabaugh …
Retreating Coastline Forces Hard Choices on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast
Rising seas from climate change are forcing difficult choices for coastal communities around the world. The southern U.S. state of Louisiana plans to spend billions restoring land it has already lost to erosion. But the plan has winners and losers. Video: Steve Baragona, Arturo Martinez …
UN: Climate Change and Poor Risk Management Increase the Risk of Natural Disasters
The United Nations is calling for better management to reduce the risks from rapidly increasing natural disasters largely triggered by climate change. The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has issued its 2022 Global Assessment Report, which prescribes solutions to lessen the threatened risks. The report warns the world is set to face more frequent and extreme disasters and nations are ill-prepared to tackle the dangers. It says the number of natural disasters experienced over the last two decades is five times higher than in the previous three decades. Based on current trends, says Director of the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Ricardo Mena, the world will face some 560 disasters per year. “Disasters have forced over a quarter-of-a-billion people into internal displacement,” said Mena. “So, that is much more than those that have been displaced by conflict and war each year on average between 2010 and 2020.” Over the last decade, the cost of disasters has amounted to around $170 billion a year. The U.N. report notes the Asia-Pacific region bears the greatest share of economic loss, followed by the African region. Mena says it is the poorest countries that are most impacted by disasters, forcing the most vulnerable into a spiral of destruction. But he says that destructive spiral can be stopped if governments adopt better risk reduction policies and management strategies. “Governments will need to invest more in disaster resilience, strengthening national budgets to protect people, and critical infrastructure,” Mena said. “But they also will have …
Robotics Company Makes Sensor-Packed Filmmaking Equipment
Sensor-packed robots are changing how movies and commercials are made. Deana Mitchell has the story. …
More Free Speech or More Misinformation? Reactions Mixed to Twitter Sale
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy Twitter Monday met mixed reactions as observers speculated how digital speech on the service might change under his leadership. Musk, a prolific Twitter user who has criticized Twitter’s management in tweets, said in the press release Monday announcing the deal that “Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.” Musk’s takeover of Twitter was applauded by some U.S. conservatives who have alleged that internet firms — including Twitter — promote a liberal political agenda and suppress conservative voices. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, tweeted that it’s “amazing to watch the Left panic at the prospect of free speech on Twitter.” But others expressed concern that Musk’s takeover would mean less moderation of hate speech and misinformation on the site. Sumayyah Waheed, senior policy counsel with Muslim Advocates, a national civil rights organization, told VOA that Twitter doesn’t have a good track record of taking down hateful speech against Muslims. “We already face threats and regular harassment on Twitter, and a weaker content moderation system will just make that even worse,” she said. Twitter, with more than 400 million monthly active users, has a smaller audience than Facebook, with 3 billion users, and YouTube, with over 2 billion. Twitter is primarily used in the U.S. and Western Europe, where it is influential among journalists, political leaders, celebrities and other thought leaders. Because powerful people use Twitter, it has …
Twitter CEO Says Company Direction Uncertain After Musk Deal
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal told employees Monday that he is uncertain of the direction the company will go after Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes over. Musk reached an agreement Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion, promising to make the platform more supportive of free speech. The move has raised questions about how far Twitter will go to relax restrictions on users’ speech and led critics to fear new policies would make it easier for people to spread disinformation and hate speech. Agrawal answered employee questions Monday in a town hall that was heard by Reuters. The news agency reported that Agrawal told employees, “Once the deal closes, we don’t know which direction the platform will go.” The CEO was answering a question about whether former President Donald Trump would be allowed to rejoin Twitter despite his permanent suspension. “I believe when we have an opportunity to speak with Elon, it’s a question we should address with him,” Agrawal said. Twitter banned Trump after the U.S. Capitol was stormed on January 6, 2021, citing a risk of more violence. Musk has proposed relaxing the type of content restrictions that led Twitter to suspend the former president’s account. Musk, who is also CEO of rocket developer SpaceX, has said Twitter needs to become a private company so that it can realize its potential for free speech. He has described himself as a “free-speech absolutist.” Reuters reported that Agrawal deferred many staff questions to …
All-Private Astronaut Team Returns Safely From Landmark Space Station Visit
The first all-private astronaut team ever flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS) safely splashed down in the Atlantic off Florida’s coast on Monday, concluding a two-week science mission hailed as a landmark in commercialized human spaceflight. The SpaceX crew capsule carrying the four-man team, led by a retired NASA astronaut who is now vice president of the Texas company behind the mission, Axiom Space, parachuted into the sea after a 16-hour descent from orbit. The splashdown capped the latest, and most ambitious, in a recent series of rocket-powered expeditions bankrolled by private investment capital and wealthy passengers rather than taxpayer dollars six decades after the dawn of the space age. The mission’s crew was assembled, equipped and trained entirely at private expense by Axiom, a five-year-old venture based in Houston and headed by NASA’s former ISS program manager. Axiom also has contracted with NASA to build the first commercial addition to and ultimate replacement of the space station. SpaceX, the launch service founded by Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, supplied the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that carried Axiom’s team to and from orbit, controlled the flight and handled the splashdown recovery. NASA, which has encouraged the further commercialization of space travel, furnished the launch site at its Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and assumed responsibility for the Axiom crew while they were aboard the space station. The U.S. space agency’s ISS crew members also pitched in to assist the private astronauts when needed. The …
Drop in Vaccines Exposes Latin American Children to Disease, Report Shows
One in four children in Latin America and the Caribbean does not have vaccine protection against three potentially deadly diseases, a U.N. report said Monday, warning of plummeting inoculation rates. While 90% of children in the region in 2015 had received the vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTP3), by 2020 coverage had dropped to three-quarters, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a regional office of the World Health Organization. This means that some 2.5 million children were not fully protected — and 1.5 million of them have not had even one dose in the three-shot regimen. Globally, according to WHO, 17.1 million infants did not receive an initial dose of the DTP3 vaccine in 2020, and another 5.6 million were only partially jabbed. Outbreaks of preventable diseases “have already occurred” in Latin America and the Caribbean, the agencies said. In 2013, only five people in the region contracted diphtheria — a bacterial disease that can cause breathing difficulties, heart failure and potentially death. Five years later, the number was nearly 900. There has also been a rise in cases of measles — another disease that can be prevented with inoculation — from nearly 500 cases in 2013 to more than 23,000 in 2019, said the statement. “The decline in vaccination rates in the region is alarming,” said UNICEF regional director Jean Gough. The reasons were multifold. “The context in the region has changed in the last five years. …
Twitter’s Board Negotiates with Elon Musk Over Bid to Buy Platform
The board of Twitter is negotiating with Tesla CEO Elon Musk over his bid to buy the social media giant. Media reports Monday said the two sides are close to reaching a deal. Musk recently announced that he wants to buy the platform and later unveiled a financing package to back the acquisition. The Reuters news agency reported that Musk’s final offer is $43 billion in cash, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The New York Times reported that Twitter and Musk spoke into the early hours Monday and were discussing contingency plans if an agreement were to be signed and then fall apart. Twitter shares were up more than 5% in trading Monday afternoon. Musk is the world’s richest person according to Forbes magazine with a nearly $279 billion fortune. The businessman, who is also CEO of rocket developer SpaceX, has said Twitter needs to become a private company so that it can realize its potential for free speech. He has described himself as a “free-speech absolutist.” Musk, who is a prolific tweeter with more than 83 million followers, tweeted Monday, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.” He has proposed relaxing Twitter’s content restrictions, which could include rules that suspended former President Donald Trump’s account. Republicans cheered Musk’s possible takeover of Twitter. “Hey, @elonmusk it’s a great week to free @realDonaldTrump,” tweeted the House Republican Conference. Twitter banned Trump’s account after the U.S. …
Vaccine Potential Game Changer in Fight Against Malaria
In advance of World Malaria Day, the World Health Organization recommends the expanded use of the first malaria vaccine, calling it a potential game changer in the fight against malaria. Malaria is a preventable, treatable disease. Yet, every year, malaria sickens more than 200 million people and kills more than 600,000. Most of these deaths, nearly half a million, are among young children in Africa. That means every 60 seconds a child dies of malaria. Despite this bleak news, the outlook for malaria control is promising, thanks to the development of the world’s first malaria vaccine. The World Health Organization calls the achievement a historic breakthrough for science. A pilot program was started in 2019 in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. Since then, the World Health Organization reports more than a million children in the three countries have received the malaria vaccine. Mary Hamel is Head of WHOs Malaria Vaccine Implementation Program. She said the two-year pilot program has shown the vaccine is safe, feasible to deliver and reduces deadly severe malaria. “We saw a 30% drop in children being brought to the hospitals with deadly, severe malaria. And we also saw almost a 10% reduction in all caused child mortality. If the vaccine is widely deployed, it is estimated that it could save an additional 40 to 80,000 child lives each year,” she said. WHO reports Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance will provide more than $155 million to support expanded introduction of the malaria vaccine for Gavi-eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa. …