The coronavirus death toll on the African continent surpassed 100,000 on Friday, as African countries struggled to obtain vaccines to counteract the pandemic.South Africa alone accounts for nearly half of the confirmed deaths in Africa with 48,859, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The country, which is facing its own variant of the virus, also accounts for nearly half the confirmed cases in the region, with more than 1.5 million. Total cases across the African continent are more than 3.8 million.The 54-nation continent of about 1.3 billion people reached the milestone of 100,000 deaths shortly after marking one year since the first coronavirus case was confirmed on the continent, in Egypt on Feb. 14, 2020.The actual death toll from the virus in Africa is believed to be higher than the official count as some who died were likely never included in confirmed tallies.Countries across the continent …

The United States has officially rejoined the Paris Agreement after the Trump administration abandoned the global climate pact saying it was too costly for business.  VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.Produced by:  Kimberlyn Weeks    …

Pharmaceutical partners Pfizer and BioNTech said Friday a new study the companies conducted indicates their COVID-19 vaccine can remain effective when stored in standard freezers for up to two weeks. In a statement posted on Pfizer’s website, the companies say they have submitted the new data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration demonstrating their COVID-19 vaccine is stable when stored at -25°C to -15°C, temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators.  The new data would be a significant development. One of the initial drawbacks of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was that it was required to be stored in ultra-low temperature freezers not commonly found in standard clinics and pharmacies. The requirement added considerable expense to transporting the vaccine and storing and distributing it in less developed areas.  The company said it submitted the data to the FDA to support a proposed update to the U.S. Emergency Use Authorization. BioNTech …

Two South African medics are swapping their medical gear for oars as they train for a risky 4,000-kilometer (2,500-mile) journey by rowboat through the Arctic Northwest Passage.If the 14-member team finishes the trip — across the north of Canada to Alaska — they will make history, as all attempts to row the icy waters have failed. “Nobody conquers a passage there,” said Leven Brown, the expedition leader. ”The ocean allows you to pass. And there is a very important distinction there. We will be lucky to get through the Northwest Passage, to row from Pond Inlet at the top right-hand corner of Canada, to the top left-hand corner of Alaska, a place called Point Barrow.”  In decades past, travel through the icy, Arctic waters was only possible by large ships. Physical, mental toll   Reduced summer ice will allow the team to row the passage, but the journey — planned for next year — will still be a physical and mental challenge.   The South African team member, Daniel Lobjoilt, says such a long, confined journey will likely take a toll. “We are going to be out there, in the elements, by ourselves, essentially, and I think after a certain period of time of …

Regional officials on the northeastern Indonesian island of Madura said Friday at least 45 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach there have died, while rescuers managed to push three back out to sea. East Java Provincial Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, who was at the scene, told reporters that volunteers began arriving Thursday when news of the stranding first broke. He said they initially were able to push some of the whales back out to sea, but they returned.The governor said there will be an investigation into the stranding and samples from dead whales will be sent to a regional university for study. He said the rest of the whales will be buried Saturday once the tide recedes and excavators can be used. People try to save a short-finned pilot whale beached in Bangkalan, Madura island, Feb. 19, 2021.There were a series of high-profile pilot whale strandings last year in the …

Investigations are now under way into the Peruvian coronavirus vaccination scandal, in which hundreds of people, many well-connected, were given shots although they did not participate in trials for the Sinopharm vaccine to determine its efficacy.Heath Minister Oscar Ugarte said 3,200 vaccines were given, including 1,200 that went to the Chinese Embassy. He said of the other 2,000 doses, investigators are looking into where they are and who was vaccinated.The state-run Andina news agency reported Peru’s Congress also launched a committee to investigate the scandal, amid a public uproar over how privileged people were able to jump ahead of front-line health workers for vaccinations.Fernando Carbone, the head of the commission investigating those benefiting from the shots is guaranteeing impartiality in the probe, with a threat of sanctions against those involved.Carbone spoke publicly about not being compromised after the Peruvian Medical College called for him to step aside, citing his association …

Venezuela began its immunization program against the COVID-19 virus by vaccinating front-line health care personnel Thursday, less than a week after receiving the first batch of 100,000 doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.”Fortunately, the strategic cooperation between Russia and Venezuela has allowed us to have access to one of the best vaccines in the world, with an efficacy of 91.6%,” Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said.Venezuela participated in trials of the Sputnik V vaccine trials before signing a purchase agreement with Russia in December.The Latin American country hopes to begin vaccinating the general public in April.Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said officials aim to vaccinate 70% of the population this year in order to achieve herd immunity.Venezuela has so far confirmed more than 134,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,297 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. …

People the world over have questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. Most have heard rumors about their safety. Even some health workers and members of the U.S. military have opted out of getting immunized. VOA’s Carol Pearson helps debunk some common myths about the COVID vaccines. …

The COVID-19 pandemic has erased more than a decade of improvements in life expectancy in the United States and widened racial and ethnic inequalities, Chart shows the change in estimated life expectancy in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020The new CDC data put the United States in line with estimates from England, Wales and Spain, which also calculated about a one-year drop in life expectancy.France projected a half-year decline for men and four-tenths for women. Swedish men also lost an estimated half a year, and women, three-tenths.U.S. life expectancy already “lags substantially behind virtually all of the high-income countries,” Goldman noted. “Now, we’ll just be even further behind.”These estimates look at cases where COVID-19 is listed as the cause of death. But “it’s definitely true that the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting other causes of death indirectly,” said University of Oxford demographer José Manuel Aburto, co-author of the study on life expectancy …

NASA’s Perseverance probe landed safely and on time on Mars, at 3:55 p.m. EST, Thursday, marking another success for the U.S. space agency.The nuclear-powered probe made its way through a harrowing landing process, deemed by some engineers as “seven minutes of terror” because it involves parachutes, powered descent and a “sky crane” that gently lowers Perseverance onto a challenging, rocky area of Martian surface. After a confirmed safe landing, members of the probe’s Mission Control erupted in applause and cheers. NASA has now successfully landed nine of 10 probes sent to the Red Planet. Minutes after touching down, Perseverance beamed back a black-and-white image from the surface as more applause broke out at Mission Control.Safe on Mars. https://t.co/heoYjkwfty— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021The probe is equipped with a microphone, which should have recorded its descent. Later Thursday, President Joe Biden sent a congratulatory tweet, saying: “Today proved once again that with …

NASA and the United States have successfully landed the Perseverance on Mars after the rover left the company of spacecrafts from the UAE and China in orbit. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, challenges for the rover – and potentially a treasure trove of discoveries  – await.Produced by:  Arash Arabasadi …

Humans are making Earth a broken and increasingly unlivable planet through climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, so the world must make dramatic changes to society, economics and daily life, a new United Nations report said.Unlike past U.N. reports that focused on one issue and avoided telling leaders what actions to take, Thursday’s report combined three intertwined environment crises and told the world what must change. It called for changing what governments tax, how nations value economic output, how power is generated, the way people get around, fish and farm, as well as what they eat.FILE – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech during a meeting of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Dec. 18, 2020.”Without nature’s help, we will not thrive or even survive,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “For too long, we have been waging a senseless and suicidal war on nature. The …

Pushed to the back of Gen Z anxieties by the COVID-19 pandemic, a looming stressor for many people younger than 30 remains climate change, say experts.    “Natural disasters precipitated by climate change, including hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, and floods can lead to … increased rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and other mental health disorders,” according to researchers at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. FILE – Firefighters battle the Morton Fire as it burns a home near Bundanoon, New South Wales, Australia, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)  The authors label the fear “eco-anxiety, climate distress, climate change anxiety, or climate anxiety,” writing in the respected British medical and science journal, The Lancet Planetary Health.    In other words, the future is not looking bright from the perspective of many people under 30.    Xiye Bastida, a student at …

Malawi will reopen schools on Monday (Feb 22), five weeks after President Lazarus Chakwera suspended classes due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Malawi’s Presidential Task-Force on COVID-19 determined it is safe to resume classes after a drop in the rate of infection.Co-Chairperson of the Presidential Task-Force on COVID-19 Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said in a televised address Wednesday night the infection rate is at 16%, down from 30% in January, when classes were suspended.She said, “Actually what we wanted is that once we reopen the schools our children should be safe because we know that when we were closing the schools, some teachers were COVID-19 positive and were on quarantine.  So we wanted to give them enough time to recover.”However, Kandodo Chiponda, who is also minister of health, said some schools will require students to produce COVID-19-negative certificates to be allowed into class.She asked parents to comply with such a requirement, …

The latest NASA probe to Mars is set to land Thursday after a journey that began last July.Perseverance’s entry into the Martian atmosphere was set to start at 3:55 p.m. EST, starting a seven-minute process that scientists hope will be successful. During the landing, NASA has no ability to control the probe.The elaborate landing process involves parachutes, powered descent and a “sky crane,” which is expected to lower Perseverance onto the Martian surface using cables.”I can tell you that Perseverance is operating perfectly right now, and that all systems are go for landing,” Jennifer Trosper, a NASA deputy project manager for the rover mission, said during a press briefing Tuesday.Perseverance is targeting a landing in Jezero Crater, which is believed to be an ancient lakebed. There, it will search for signs of ancient life.The terrain around the landing site is rocky, making landing difficult, but NASA said the probe is …

President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged to improve the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. This week, the first federally supported mass vaccination sites opened in California. Matt Dibble reports. Camera: Matt Dibble     Producer: Matt Dibble …