No in-person school. Isolation from friends. Lost rites of passage like graduation ceremonies. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the lives of many children in the United States. “A lot of children’s joy comes from being with friends or from play, and from social interaction. When you ask kids, ‘What’s making you happy?’ 90% of the time, it’s being around friends or doing things with friends,” says Elena Mikalsen, head of the Psychology Section at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio in Texas. “That was kind of taken away during the pandemic. … For the longest time, all kids had was the academics and no joy.”  A recent report finds that the uncertainty and disruption caused by COVID-19 has negatively affected the emotional and mental health of about one-third of America’s youth. So much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), along with other children’s health organizations, has declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. …

Maintaining the unique environment of the Galápagos Islands and protecting the surrounding marine resources is testing Ecuador. China’s industrial fishing fleet threatens the islands, but China is a key trading partner. Jaime Moreno has this report. Video: Nelson Abril …

Over the past few years, the so-called healing crystals trend has resurfaced in the wellness industry, even though the stones have no scientifically proven health benefits. Karina Bafradzhian has the story. …

The COP26 climate summit is taking place against the backdrop of an ongoing global pandemic. As richer nations begin to reopen, thanks to rapid vaccination programs, most people in developing countries are still waiting for their first dose, despite global pledges to distribute more vaccines. Analysts say distrust between richer and poorer nations could hamper climate negotiations at the COP26 summit.  In most high-income countries, more than 70% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. But in low-income countries, the figure is less than 4%, according to figures from the University of Oxford.  “If this level of vaccine inequity remains in place, 5 million people will die unnecessarily next year,” said Robert Yates, director of the global health program at Chatham House.    At the G-7 summit in June, leaders of the world’s richest nations pledged to share 1 billion vaccine doses with poorer …

The COP26 climate summit is taking place against the backdrop of an ongoing global pandemic. As richer nations begin to reopen thanks to rapid vaccination programs, most people in developing countries are still waiting for their first dose. Henry Ridgwell reports from the summit in Glasgow on whether distrust between richer and poorer nations could hamper climate negotiations.  Camera: Henry Ridgwell     Produced by: Kimberlyn Weeks …

Philanthropist Bill Gates says the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $315 million to help small farmers around the world grow crops that will adapt to climate change. In an interview with VOA from Glasgow where he is attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference, Gates said the money will go to a seed consortium which will help farmers thrive in changing environments. The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.    Q: Help us visualize the scope of the problem when it comes to climate change. What are we facing and how much should we be concerned? A: Well, climate change is one of the biggest challenges mankind has ever faced. Year by year, because of these carbon emissions, the climate will be getting hotter and that means, particularly anywhere near the equator, the ability to do outdoor farming or outdoor construction work will become impossible. And so that’ll …

At the U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, U.S. President Joe Biden apologized for the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate accord under his predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden said the U.S. is now back at the table to lead on climate. But as White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports, it’s unclear just how much he can deliver. …

Hopes are already fading that the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow will result in any new deal for a significant cut in global greenhouse gas emissions, after China and Russia declined to attend the conference and India’s pledges fell short of expectations.  The summit got under way Monday as dozens of world leaders addressed the delegates, defending their performances on climate action and in some cases presenting new emissions targets. Over 25,000 delegates are attending the two-week conference, including heads of state, government ministers, nongovernmental organizations, official observers and media. Hundreds of protesters and members of the public are also gathering outside the secure “Blue Zone” on the banks of Glasgow’s River Clyde. The area has become official United Nations territory for the duration of the summit.  Scientists have warned that a failure to agree to much deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will result in catastrophic and irreversible climate …

There are stark warnings from scientists that a failure to agree to much deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will result in catastrophic and irreversible climate change. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from Glasgow, Scotland, hopes are already fading that the COP26 climate summit will result in any new deal to save the planet.  Camera: Henry Ridgwell …

The U.S. Supreme Court heard challenges Monday to a Texas law that imposes a near total ban on abortion after six weeks.  The Republican-backed Texas law bars abortions once cardiac activity has been detected in an embryo, which typically happens at six weeks – a point when some women are not yet aware they are pregnant. The law also allows members of the public to sue people who may have facilitated an abortion after six weeks, taking enforcement out of the hands of state officials.  The justices heard separate challenges to the law from President Joe Biden’s administration and from abortion providers.  In their questioning of lawyers appearing before the court Monday, the justices suggested the law’s atypical enforcement structure could be problematic.  Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked whether defendants who are sued under the law could ever get a “full airing” of the constitutional claims on the right to …

First doses, pending approval, will be administered this week …

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday announced a range of American commitments aimed at curbing global warming, as leaders from more than 100 countries gathered in Glasgow for the U.N. Climate Change Conference. “The United States will be able to meet the ambitious target I set at the Leaders Summit on climate back in April, reducing U.S. emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030,” Biden said. “We will demonstrate to the world that the United States is not only back at the table, but hopefully leading by the power of our example. I know it hasn’t been the case, and that’s why my administration is working overtime to show that our climate commitment is action, not words.” Those new goals include a set of new U.S. climate commitments that build on previous global agreements: the unveiling of plans for a $3 billion President’s Emergency Plan for …

The COVID-19 pandemic global death toll has hit the 5 million mark, according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The center reported early Monday a grim milestone of 5,000,425 global deaths from the COVID outbreak.  The new death tally comes just months after 4 million deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in June. The milestone arrives as some countries struggle to get one vaccine into their citizens’ arms, while other countries have begun inoculating their population with booster shots.  In an open letter appealing to the leaders of the G-20 nations who are meeting in Rome, the World Health Organization stressed the disparity in vaccine distribution between wealthy and low-income countries.  “The current vaccine equity gap between wealthier and low resource countries demonstrates a disregard for the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable,” the statement said. “For every 100 people in high-income countries, 133 doses of COVID-19 vaccine …

The COVID-19 pandemic global death toll has hit the 5 million mark, according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The tally comes a little more than four months after 4 million deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in June. The milestone arrives as some countries struggle to get one vaccine into their citizens’ arms, while other countries have begun inoculating their population with booster shots. “The current vaccine equity gap between wealthier and low resource countries demonstrates a disregard for the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable,” the World Health Organization recently said in an open letter to the leaders of the G-20 nations who are meeting in Rome.“For every 100 people in high-income countries, 133 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, while in low-income countries, only 4 doses per 100 people have been administered.” The WHO letter also warned, “Vaccine inequity is costing lives every day, …

Australians are being allowed to travel overseas without COVID-19 restrictions for the first time in almost 600 days. Previously they needed government permission to go overseas under strict measures designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. After more than 18 months, Australia is reconnecting with the world as vaccination rates increase. There were tearful reunions at Sydney Airport as the first overseas passengers landed after restrictions came to an end. Australians can now travel freely overseas without needing official permission. Returning travelers flying home into the states of New South Wales and Victoria no longer face mandatory hotel quarantine. They must, however, be double vaccinated and only Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families can return home at this stage. Australia will reopen quarantine-free entry to fully vaccinated Singaporeans from Nov. 21, but it is unclear when other foreign nationals, who have been mostly banned since March 2020, …

A wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be more than 1,000 years old has turned up in southern Mexico, officials said on Friday, part of archeological work accompanying the construction of a major new tourist train. The extremely rare canoe was found almost completely intact, submerged in a freshwater pool known as a cenote, thousands of which dot Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, near the ruins of Chichen Itza, once a major Maya city featuring elaborately carved temples and towering pyramids. Measuring a little over 1.6 meters in length and 80 centimeters wide, the canoe was possibly used to transport water from the cenote or deposit ritual offerings, according to a statement from Mexican antiquities institute INAH. The institute described the extraordinary find as “the first complete canoe like this in the Maya area,” adding that experts from Paris’ Sorbonne University will help with an analysis of the …