The U.S. averaged more than 107,000 new COVID-19 cases a day for the first week of August, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center on Saturday. For comparison, on June 7, the U.S. reported just more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase in coronavirus…
The White House reported Friday that the United States has now officially fully vaccinated half of its population, thanks to surge in vaccinations during the past week. White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted Friday: He also said the seven-day average of newly vaccinated Americans was up 11% from last week and 44% over…
Want to find your inner Matt Damon and spend a year pretending you are isolated on Mars? NASA has a job for you. To prepare for eventually sending astronauts to Mars, NASA began taking applications Friday for four people to live for a year in Mars Dune Alpha. That’s a 1,700-square-foot Martian habitat, created by…
Apple has unveiled plans to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child sexual abuse, drawing applause from child protection groups but raising concern among some security researchers that the system could be misused, including by governments looking to surveil their citizens. The tool designed to detect known images of child sexual abuse, called “neuralMatch,” will…
The ticket window is open again for space flights at Virgin Galactic, with prices starting at $450,000 a seat. The space-tourism company said Thursday it is making progress toward beginning revenue flights next year. It will sell single seats, package deals and entire flights. Virgin Galactic announced the offerings as it reported Thursday that it…
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the World Bank have launched a US$57 million Lao Landscapes and Livelihoods Project that will generate jobs and incomes in rural areas by promoting investment in environmentally sustainable and socially-responsible forest and landscape management, and in the preservation of natural capital in the country. The project is funded…
Today, 415,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine from the British government have been handed over by British Ambassador John Pearson to Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune. The official ceremony took place at the Ministry of Health. Senior government officials, key members of the British Embassy, and country representatives of UNICEF in the Lao PDR and…
Today, 616,820 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in Japan have arrived in Vientiane. This donation by the Government of Japan is expected to help Laos further accelerate the inoculation programmes across the country. The Government of the Lao PDR has set an ambitious plan of protecting 50 per cent of the total population in…
The first extraordinary session of the National Assembly’s ninth legislature was opened this morning under the chairmanship of President of the National Assembly Xaysomphone Phomvihane. The meeting will be held through Aug 10, 2021. The opening session of the meeting saw the presence of President Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh, other cabinet members, members…
The World Health Organization’s director-general is calling for a worldwide moratorium on COVID-19 booster shots until at least the end of September, to allow low-income nations to get more initial vaccination doses. At a media briefing at the agency’s Geneva headquarters, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus once again brought up inequities in worldwide vaccine allocation, noting more…
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday the delta variant of the coronavirus accounts for more than 93 percent of all new COVID-19 cases in the country. The CDC’s updated figures for the week ending July 31, show the delta variant, including its sub-lineages, all of which are classified as variants…
A report by U.S. Republican lawmakers says a “preponderance of evidence” proves the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic leaked from a Chinese research facility — a conclusion that U.S. intelligence agencies have not reached. The report, released Monday, also cited “ample evidence” that Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) scientists — aided by U.S. experts…
