The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday announced a collaborative effort with world leaders and private industry to ensure equitable distribution of any viable vaccines or treatments for COVID-19.WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joined U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres via teleconference from Geneva, along with European Union leaders, to announce the project that is aimed at ensuring all countries get the latest tools to fight the coronavirus pandemic.  Calling it “the fight of our lives,” Guterres said treatments and vaccines for the virus should belong to the whole world, not to individual countries or regions. He added the treatments must be “affordable, safe, effective, [and] easily administered.”French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were among the participants in Friday’s teleconference.No representatives from the United States took part in the announcement.   …

After months of testing, a European space telescope finally begins its work studying far-off planets. Meanwhile, a crew return home from the International Space Station after more than two hundred days in orbit. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the week in space. …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday lengthened her stay-at-home order through May 15, while lifting restrictions so some businesses can reopen and the public can participate in outdoor activities like golf and motorized boating during the coronavirus pandemic. The measure immediately replaces one that was scheduled to expire next week. Michigan has had nearly 3,000 deaths related to COVID-19, behind only New York and New Jersey among U.S. states. People are now required, rather than encouraged, to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces such as grocery stores if they can medically tolerate it. Employers must provide non-medical grade masks to their in-person employees. Landscapers, lawn-service companies, plant nurseries and bike repair shops can resume operating, subject to social-distancing rules. Stores selling nonessential supplies can reopen for curbside pickup and delivery. Big-box retailers no longer have to close off garden centers and areas dedicated to selling paint, flooring and carpet. …

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration on Thursday, saying industry cannot avoid the Clean Water Act when it pumps wastewater into the ground instead of directly into oceans and rivers.In a 6-3 decision, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority. He said putting the polluted water into the ground before it eventually reaches oceans and rivers is “the functional equivalent” of directly releasing it into the ocean, and permission from the Environmental Protection Agency is needed.In his dissenting opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that according to current laws, a permit is needed only for directly dumping polluted water into a waterway.Attorney David Henkin argued the case on behalf of the environmental group Earthjustice.“This decision is a huge victory for clean water. The Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration’s effort to blow a big hole in the Clean Water Act’s protections for rivers, lakes and oceans,” he …

After last week’s court ruling brought to light potential environmental concerns, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended a nationwide program meant to approve utility work, despite industry representatives’ warnings it could stop important infrastructure projects.Nationwide Permit 12, a blanket permit used by utility companies to build gas and oil pipelines, powerlines and other infrastructure across wetlands and streams, was ruled illegal by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris concerning the Keystone XL pipeline’s use of the permit for water crossings without the Army Corps’ proper consideration of endangered wildlife.From there, the judge’s findings were expanded to include any projects using Nationwide Permit 12.The Trump administration likely will counter the court’s ruling, seeing as the original lawsuit was over the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, a project Trump supported.Currently, 360 requests are pending from companies seeking approval to use the permit, according to Army Corps spokesman Doug Garman.Though no further …

The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research. From bees and other pollinators crucial to the world’s food supply to butterflies that beautify places, the bugs are disappearing at a rate of just under 1% a year, with lots of variation from place to place, according to a study in Thursday’s journal Science.  That’s a tinier population decline than found by some smaller localized studies, which had triggered fears of a so-called insect apocalypse. But it still adds up to something “awfully alarming,” said entomologist Roel van Klink of the German Centre for Integrative Biology, the study’s lead author. “The decline across insect orders on land is jaw dropping,” said Michigan State University butterfly expert Nick Haddad, who wasn’t part of the …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a fundamental reform of the World Health Organization was needed following its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and that the United States, the WHO’s biggest donor, may never restore funding to the U.N. body.   As Pompeo launched fresh attacks on the U.N. body on Wednesday, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives accused the Trump administration of trying to “scapegoat” the WHO to distract from its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.   In a letter to President Donald Trump, they called for the immediate restoration of U.S. funding, which Trump suspended last week accusing the WHO of being “China-centric” and of promoting China’s “disinformation” about the outbreak.   Pompeo told Fox News late on Wednesday there needed to be “a structural fix of the WHO” to correct its “shortcomings.”   Asked if he was not ruling out a change in leadership of …

The United Kingdom’s economy is crumbling under the strain of the coronavirus lockdown and government borrowing is soaring to the highest levels in peacetime history, increasing pressure on the government to set out an exit strategy.   Prime Minister Boris Johnson, recuperating at his country residence after being seriously ill with COVID-19, is facing criticism from opposition politicians and some epidemiologists for reacting too slowly to the novel coronavirus outbreak.   Ministers are already struggling to explain high death rates, limited testing and shortages of protective kit, and the grim reality of the damage to the world’s fifth largest economy hit home on Thursday.   The past century, or possibly several centuries,” Bank of England interest-rate setter Jan Vlieghe said, the recovery, he said, was unlikely to be swift.   “The risks are that it will take longer and that it will look a little bit more like a U …

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined calls for a combined effort to tackle coronavirus and the climate crisis, saying the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday was the time to choose a “new way forward.” Dramatic improvements in air and water quality as coronavirus lockdowns have cut pollution have prompted calls for a low-carbon future, but the need to get millions back to work is clouding the picture for the future.  Thunberg, taking part in a streamed event to mark Earth Day, said the extraordinary measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus did not mean the climate crisis had gone away.   Climate activist Greta Thunberg, center, talks with other climate activists youth at the COP25 climate talks summit in Madrid, Dec. 6, 2019.”We need to tackle two crises at once,” she said.  “Whether we like it or not the world has changed, it looks completely different from how it did …

The World Meteorological Organization is warning that if the planet keeps warming at its current pace, the average global temperature could increase by 1.5 degrees C  in the next 10 years.  This rise would worsen extreme weather events, and many of the dangerous effects of climate change might become irreversible, it said.  WMO reported Wednesday that the national lockdowns of transportation, industry and energy production because of the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in a 6 percent drop of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.  However, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said this good news would be short-lived.  He said the startup of industry might even trigger a boost in emissions.  He said the pandemic also was making it more difficult to monitor and manage weather and other hazards.“This current COVID crisis has led to the decrease in some measurements,” he said. For example, “airline companies have been carrying out measurements.  Since …

As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India’s getting views of sights not visible in decades. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern  United States is down 30%. Rome air pollution levels from mid-March to mid-April were down 49% from a year ago. Stars seem more visible at night. People are also noticing animals in places and at times they don’t usually. Coyotes have meandered along downtown Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. A puma roamed  the streets of Santiago, Chile. Goats took over a town in Wales. In India, already daring wildlife has become bolder with hungry monkeys entering homes and opening refrigerators to look for food. When people stay home, Earth becomes cleaner and wilder. …

China will pay close attention to clusters of coronavirus infections, especially in hospitals, according to a top level meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.   China’s northeastern city of Harbin has had several clusters of infections in local hospitals.   The government also called for efforts to increase coronavirus testing capability and produce more effective testing equipment, according to a statement on the state council’s website. (Reporting by Colin Qian and Nori Shirouzu; Editing by Andrew Heavens) …

Laboratory and drug development services provider LabCorp said on Wednesday it would expand the availability of its antibody tests for the new coronavirus to more hospitals and healthcare organizations starting next week. The tests, earlier made available mainly to healthcare workers in late March, aim to identify individuals exposed to the virus but without any visible symptoms by detecting the presence of antibodies to the virus in blood samples. LabCorp said it offers separate tests to identify three major classes of antibodies for the virus. Physicians would be able to direct asymptomatic patients to the company’s approximately 2,000 patient service centers for specimen collection for the antibody test, SARS-CoV-2 IgG, starting April 27, the company said.While the tests are neither the sole basis for a diagnosis nor assurance of immunity, they could play a role in helping healthcare providers determine appropriate treatment for individuals suspected of having been infected with the virus, LabCorp’s …

Several countries around the world, including Germany and South Korea, and a number of U.S. states are easing their coronavirus lockdown restrictions this week. But experts caution that a number of conditions need to be in place before people leave their homes and head back out to churches, shops, restaurants and beaches.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. Embed” />Copy …

Leading U.S. doctors’ organizations are urging the Trump administration to collect data to show who is dying from COVID-19. Data collected so far shows that the coronavirus is killing African-Americans at an alarmingly higher rate than it’s killing white people. More from VOA’s Carol Pearson. …

The United Nations’ food chief warned Tuesday that while the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, it is also on the brink of a hunger pandemic.”Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the specter of famine a very real and dangerous possibility,” World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley told a remote meeting of the U.N. Security Council.Beasley said 821 million people worldwide are chronically hungry, and 135 million face crisis levels of hunger. With the added stress of COVID-19, an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020.”In a worst-case scenario, we could be looking at famine in about three dozen countries,” he warned.FILE – A homeless young man, who is thought to be suffering from malnutrition, is helped to the clinic in a quarantined area at …

SARS-CoV2 should be a good candidate for a vaccine. The question is which vaccine will be the best solution? …

Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have decreased across the globe, as countries strive to contain the spread of the coronavirus by ordering people to stay at home.Among the many unknown facts about this new virus is what kind of long-term impact it will have on the environment.Since the outbreak in December 2019 and the subsequent pandemic, businesses have shuttered, airlines have slashed services, and more and more people are working from home or not working at all, cutting traffic to a minimum.The global shutdown has inadvertently become an experiment in the reduction of greenhouse gases.NASA recently released satellite data of the northeastern U.S., revealing a 30% drop in air pollution over densely populated metropolitan areas. Nitrogen dioxide from transportation fossil fuels and electricity generation shows that March 2020 has the lowest emission levels on record since 2005.In Wuhan, China, the manufacturing hub where the outbreak began, NASA reported that pollution …