FDA, CDC Authorize Pfizer, Moderna Boosters for All US Adults
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel Friday voted unanimously to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots available to those 18 and older. The CDC also said those older than 50 should get a booster.The move comes after the U.S. F…
Experts Urge Australia Supermarket Cigarette Sale Ban
Australian public health experts are making new efforts to curb the use of tobacco products, comparing its adverse effects on health to that of asbestos and lead paint.Australia has led the world on tobacco control, with plain packaging laws introduced…
A More Connected Global Economy Is a Double-Edged Sword, Says WTO
In its annual report on the status of global trade, the World Trade Organization finds that the increasing interconnectedness of the world’s economies is a double-edged sword.While this globalization makes individual countries more vulnerable to short-…
The Greater Mekong region: A hotspot of wildlife and crime
Published by Mongabay Did you know that illegal logging can be five times as lucrative as selling the world’s most well-known soda? In 2020, the Coca-Cola company reported $33 billion in revenue. The global illegal timber trade, in comparison, generates up to $152 billion a year — accounting for up to 90% of deforestation in […]
US Retail Sales Surged in October
U.S. retail sales surged in October, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday, in a signal that at least at the start of the annual holiday shopping season, consumers were not scared off by sharply increasing prices.Retail sales increased 1.7% last mon…
Canada Landslides Leave 1 Dead, 2 Missing, Port’s Rail Access Cut
The port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest, said on Tuesday that all rail access had been cut by floods and landslides farther east that killed at least one person and left two others missing.Two days of torrential rain across the Pacific province of Brit…
Heavy Rains Force Evacuations, Trap Motorists in Canada
Relentless rain battered Canada’s Pacific coast on Monday, forcing a town’s evacuation and trapping motorists as mudslides, rocks and debris were washed across major highways.Some 275 people, according to local media, were stuck overnight in their cars…
Russian Test Blamed for Space Junk Threatening Space Station
A Russian weapons test created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk that is now threatening the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station, U.S. officials said Monday.The State Department confirmed that the debris was from an old Russian s…
White House Acknowledges Inflation Impact on US Consumers
The top White House economic adviser on Sunday acknowledged the pain for Americans of sharply rising consumer prices, saying that President Joe Biden remains open to the possibility of tapping the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease spiraling gaso…