Florida Groups Canvass Spring Breakers to Warn of Fentanyl

In the days after a group of West Point cadets on spring break were sickened by fentanyl-laced cocaine at a South Florida house party, community activists sprang into action. They blitzed beaches, warned spring breakers of a surge in recreational drugs cut with the dangerous synthetic opioid and offered an antidote for overdoses, which have risen nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Street teams stood under the blistering sun, handing out beads, pamphlets and samples of naloxone, a drug known by the brand name Narcan, which can revive overdose victims. “We weren’t sure how people would react,” said Thomas Smith, director of behavioral health services for The Special Purpose Outreach Team, a local mobile medical program. “But the spring breakers have been great. Some say, ‘I don’t do drugs, but my buddy sometimes does something stupid.’ They are happy to get Narcan.” Smith’s team pulls up to Fort Lauderdale beach in …

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Space Station’s First All-Private Astronaut Team Docked to Orbiting Platform

The first all-private team of astronauts ever launched to the International Space Station (ISS) arrived safely at the orbiting research platform Saturday to begin a weeklong science mission hailed as a milestone in commercial spaceflight. The rendezvous came about 21 hours after the four-man team representing Houston-based startup company Axiom Space, Inc. lifted off Friday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, riding atop a SpaceX-launched Falcon 9 rocket. The Crew Dragon capsule lofted to orbit by the rocket docked with the ISS at about 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) Saturday as the two space vehicles were flying roughly 250 miles (420 km) above the central Atlantic Ocean, a live NASA webcast of the coupling showed. The final approach was delayed by a technical glitch that disrupted a video feed used to monitor the capsule’s rendezvous with ISS. The snafu forced the Crew Dragon to pause and hold its position 20 meters …

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Shanghai Showing Strain of Life Under Strict COVID Lockdown

Shanghai is China’s most populous city, a place marked by its expansive worldview and keen sense of its own identity. But now it is chafing at Beijing’s rigid containment methods designed in accordance with the national zero-COVID policy. Since a wave of infections struck the metropolis of some 25 million people last month, Shanghai officials have imposed a temporary lockdown (March 28), designed a policy separating infected children from their parents (April 2), extended the lockdown indefinitely (April 5), buckled before a public outcry to ease the child-parent separation policy and seen the daily count of new cases hit a record 22,000 (April 8). Viral videos appear to show residents tackling health workers in hazmat suits and charging through a barricaded street shouting “We want to eat cheap vegetables,” according to France24. Some residents face the mandatory tests “in very Shanghainese style” tweeted one. What are thought to be government …

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Saudi Arabia to Allow 1 Million Hajj Pilgrims This Year

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it will permit 1 million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this year’s hajj, a sharp uptick after pandemic restrictions forced two years of drastically pared-down pilgrimages. The hajj ministry “has authorized 1 million pilgrims, both foreign and domestic, to perform the hajj this year,” it said in a statement. One of the five pillars of Islam, the hajj must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives. Usually one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, about 2.5 million people took part in 2019. But after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Saudi authorities allowed only 1,000 pilgrims to participate. The following year, they upped the total to 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents chosen through a lottery. This year’s hajj, which will take place in July, will be limited to vaccinated pilgrims under …

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Donors Pledge Extra $4.8 Billion to Fight COVID Vaccine Inequity

An international donor conference on Friday raised $4.8 billion for the U.N.-backed COVAX plan to deliver coronavirus jabs to poorer countries, organizers said. “The pandemic is not over, far from it. Until we beat COVID-19 everywhere, we beat it nowhere. That is a fact, and a responsibility for all of us,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, co-host of the online conference. Scholz, whose bid to make COVID jabs mandatory for over-60s in Germany failed in parliament this week, warned that the ongoing pandemic risked creating new variants that could be “more dangerous” than previous ones. The conference, hosted by Germany, Ghana, Senegal and Indonesia, sought to address a yawning gap in vaccination rates between the world’s richest and poorest countries. The COVAX program, co-led by vaccine-sharing alliance Gavi, the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has so far delivered 1.4 billion doses to 145 countries — …

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UN: Aging Supertanker Off Yemen at ‘Imminent Risk’ of Spilling Oil

The United Nations warned Friday that an old, neglected oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of oil is a ticking “time bomb” at “imminent risk” of a major spill off the coast of Yemen that could cost $20 billion to clean up. “If it were to happen, the spill would unleash a massive ecological and humanitarian catastrophe centered on a country already decimated by more than seven years of war,” U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly told reporters. “The environmental damage could affect states across the Red Sea. The economic impact of disrupted shipping would be felt across the region.” The FSO Safer is one more casualty in the war between the Saudi-backed government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Iranian-supported Houthi rebels. U.N. officials have been seeking access to the vessel for more than three years to assess its safety, do light …

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US Drug Overdose Deaths Soar

As the U.S. tries to emerge from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts and law enforcement officials are concerned about another health crisis: a sharp rise in the number of drug related overdoses attributed to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a bulletin earlier this week to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies warning of a nationwide spike in fentanyl-related mass-overdose events. Already this year, numerous mass overdose events have resulted in dozens of overdoses and deaths,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in an email statement to VOA. Fentanyl-related mass overdose events are characterized as three or more overdoses occurring close in time and at the same location. In February, five people died in an apartment outside Denver from overdoses of fentanyl mixed with cocaine. In another case, five West Point Military Academy cadets survived after overdosing on fentanyl-laced cocaine while on …

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On World Health Day, US Lacks Funding for Global COVID Response

Without a single dollar of the $5 billion it requested for its global COVID-19 response approved, the Biden administration’s key program to help vaccinate the world is in danger of grinding to a halt. Even as the administration marked World Health Day on Thursday with a commitment to build a safer, healthier and more equitable future around the globe, without additional funding from Congress, by September the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will no longer be able to finance Global Vax. The U.S. launched the international initiative in December to deliver shots in arms in 11 countries: Angola, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. “Without additional funding to support getting shots into arms, USAID will have to curtail our growing efforts to turn vaccines into vaccinations — just as countries are finally gaining access to the vaccine supplies needed to protect …

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Illness from Omicron Variant Shorter Than from Delta, UK Finds

Disease caused by the omicron variant is on average around two days shorter than the delta variant, a large study of vaccinated Britons who kept a smartphone log of their COVID-19 symptoms after breakthrough infections found. “The shorter presentation of symptoms suggests — pending confirmation from viral load studies — that the period of infectiousness might be shorter, which would in turn impact workplace health policies and public health guidance,” the study authors wrote. Based on the Zoe COVID app, which collects data on self-reported symptoms, the study also found that a symptomatic omicron infection was 25% less likely to result in hospital admission than in a case of delta. While omicron’s lesser severity has been known, the study is unique in its detailed analysis and in that it corrected for any distortions caused by differences in vaccination status by looking at vaccinated volunteers only. The researchers at King’s College …

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Space Travelers Speak with VOA

The first-ever married couple to fly on a commercial spacecraft speaks with VOA. Plus, an all-amateur flight crew prepares for a trip to the International Space Station, and a milestone in space-based racial equality. Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …

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JD.com Founder Richard Liu Leaves CEO Post

Chinese e-commerce company JD.com said Thursday that its founder Richard Liu has left his position as CEO, the latest Chinese billionaire founder to step aside amid increased government scrutiny of the country’s technology industry. Liu will hand over the reins to JD.com’s president Xu Lei, according to a company statement. Liu will remain as the chairman of the board and continue to focus on JD.com’s “long-term strategies, mentoring younger management, and contributing to the revitalization of rural areas,” the statement said. “I’ll devote more of my time to JD’s long-term strategies and future drivers as we continue to work on the most challenging yet valuable things,” Liu said. Liu is the latest in a string of Chinese technology company founders who have stepped down from leadership positions in recent years. Last year, e-commerce firm Pinduoduo’s founder Colin Huang resigned as chairman and Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming also left his position …

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California’s Lithium Valley Gears Up for Clean Energy Future

Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, and California officials hope their state will become a major producer. Governor Gavin Newsom has said he wants California to become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” But residents of one community want some assurances first. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Lithium Valley in the California desert. Camera: Mike O’Sullivan, Roy Kim …

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WHO: After March Surge, Global COVID-19 Cases Continue To Drop

The World Health Organization ((WHO)) says, following a surge of new cases in early March, the number of new worldwide COVID-19 cases and deaths has fallen for a second consecutive week. In its weekly update released late Tuesday, the WHO reports the number of new cases overall fell by 16 percent during the week ending April 3, compared to the previous week. As of 3 April 2022, just over 489 million cases and over 6 million deaths had been reported globally. The agency said global deaths from COVID-19 fell sharply – by 43 percent – in the past week. The WHO attributed a sharp rise in death numbers the previous week to a change in the way deaths were counted and the addition of death numbers not previously reported in the Americas. At the country level, the highest number of new weekly cases was reported in South Korea, with more …

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Biden Proposal Would Expand Health Care Access

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to expand access to health care by proposing changes to the Affordable Care Act to allow millions of additional families to purchase health insurance and obtain tax credits to offset the cost. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …

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Twitter to Start Testing Long-Awaited Edit Feature Soon

Twitter said on Tuesday it will begin testing a new edit feature in the coming months, surprising its users on the same day it said Tesla boss Elon Musk would join the social media company’s board.  Jay Sullivan, Twitter’s head of consumer products, said in a tweet the company had been working since last year on building an edit option, “the most requested Twitter feature for many years.”  The news, first teased by Twitter on April Fools’ Day, comes as the company faces a broader change in direction with Musk becoming its largest shareholder and joining the board after questioning the social media platform’s commitment to free speech.   Musk began polling Twitter users about an edit button after disclosing his 9.2% stake in the company on Monday. As of 6:30 p.m. EST, the poll had more than 4.2 million votes, with 73.5% supporting the feature.  Twitter Chief Executive Officer …

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Zoos Protecting Birds as Avian Flu Spreads in North America 

Zoos across North America are moving their birds indoors and away from people and wildlife as they try to protect them from the highly contagious and potentially deadly avian influenza.  Penguins may be the only birds that visitors to many zoos can see right now, because they already are kept inside and usually protected behind glass in their exhibits, making it harder for the bird flu to reach them.  Nearly 23 million chickens and turkeys have already been killed across the United States to limit the spread of the virus, and zoos are working hard to prevent any of their birds from meeting the same fate. It would be especially upsetting for zoos to have to kill any of the endangered or threatened species in their care.  “It would be extremely devastating,” said Maria Franke, who is the manager of welfare science at Toronto Zoo, which has fewer than two …

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Global TB Fight Set Back Years by COVID, Health Experts Say

As the world impatiently looks for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, another tenacious pandemic, tuberculosis, has gained new strength and threatens millions of people around the world, health experts say.    With less funding for its detection and care programs, and more deaths resulting from it, the global fight against TB has seen major setbacks.   “We’ve lost five years of progress or more in the fight against TB because of the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic,” David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told VOA.     Dowdy’s assessment is echoed by the World Health Organization. “The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of global progress in tackling tuberculosis and for the first time in over a decade,” said Amna Smailbegovic, a WHO spokesperson.   More than 66 million lives have been saved through TB treatment programs since 2000, and the WHO had …

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Elon Musk Named to Twitter Board After Acquiring Massive Stock Share

A day after it was revealed he owned the largest stake in Twitter, slightly more than 9% of shares, Elon Musk has joined the company’s board of directors. The Tesla and SpaceX founder will be on the board until at least 2024, according to a regulatory filing. As a stipulation of his board membership, Musk won’t be allowed to own more than 14.9% of Twitter shares while on the board and for three months following a departure from the board. After the announcement, Musk tweeted, “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” “I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board!” tweeted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.” “He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the …

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Drones Aim to Deliver Meals, Medicines to People’s Backyards

In the U.S., some restaurants and medical supply stores are turning to drones to deliver food, medicine, and other essential goods to people’s homes. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. …

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Amazon Signs on Launch Partners for Space Internet 

Amazon on Tuesday announced deals for scores of launches to deploy a “constellation” of satellites in low orbit around the Earth to provide internet service to people below. Amazon said that its contracts with Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are the largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles in history. The overall cost and timing of launches booked to make Amazon’s Project Kuiper a reality were not disclosed. “We still have lots of work ahead, but the team has continued to hit milestone after milestone across every aspect of our satellite system,” Amazon senior vice president Dave Limp said in a statement. “Project Kuiper will provide fast, affordable broadband to tens of millions of customers in unserved and underserved communities around the world.” U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, head of the space company SpaceX, has already put more than 1,500 satellites into orbit to create a Starlink internet service …

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Leishmania Cases Rampant in Northeast Syria Town

Cases of a parasitic disease called Leishmaniasis are increasing at an alarming pace in a town in northeastern Syria called Tel Tamr. VOA’s Zana Omer has more in this story narrated by Sirwan Kajjo. Camera: Zana Omer …

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World on Fast-Track to Climate Disaster, International Panel Says

Climate scientists warn the world is courting disaster if it fails to swiftly do what’s required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The International Panel on Climate Change released a report on mitigating climate change. After two previous reports on the physical science behind climate change and on its potential impacts, the United Nation’s top climate body says changes are now causing huge disruptions in the natural world and in human well-being.  Over the last decade, the report says average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history.     However, the co-chair of the panel’s third working group, Jim Skea, says the rate of growth has slowed in the last two years along with increasing evidence of many countries taking climate action.  “Despite this progress, our assessment concludes that unless there are immediate and deep emission reductions across all sectors, limiting warming …

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UN: World Can Avoid Climate Extremes Only Through Drastic Measures

The United Nations’ top climate body says drastic measures, including significant cuts in fossil fuel use, are necessary to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures.  Monday’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed that the world is “on a fast track to climate disaster” and that governments and organizations have engaged in “a litany of broken climate promises,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unlivable world,” he said in a video message released alongside the report. Guterres said the world’s current trajectory is global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree limit agreed at climate talks in Paris in 2015. To keep the 1.5-degree limit within reach, he said that the world would need to cut global emissions by 45% this decade.  The 2,800-page report said only …

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WHO: 99% of World Population Breathes in Polluted Air

The World Health Organization reports 13 million people die every year from environmental causes, including more than seven million who are killed each year from exposure to air pollution. New data released by the World Health Organization confirms that practically the whole world is breathing in unhealthy air. The WHO is calling for urgent action to curb the use of fossil fuels to reduce air pollution levels. This, it says threatens the health of billions of people, leading to the preventable deaths of millions. Sophie Gumy is technical officer in WHO’s department of environment, climate change and health. She says the data show air quality is poorest notably in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, and African regions. “Most of the seven million deaths, they come from low and middle-income countries, indeed they do,” Gumy said. “That does not mean that the high-income countries are not impacted. You know we are …

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