La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted on Friday after decades of inactivity, sending dark plumes of ash and smoke billowing into the sky and forcing thousands from surrounding villages to evacuate.Dormant since 1979, the volcano started showing signs of activity in December, spewing steam and smoke and rumbling away. That picked up this week, prompting Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves to order an evacuation of the surrounding area late on Thursday.Early on Friday it finally erupted. Ash and smoke plunged the neighboring area into near total darkness, blotting out the bright morning sun, said a Reuters witness, who reported hearing the explosion from Rose Hall, a nearby village.Smaller explosions continued throughout the day, Erouscilla Joseph, director at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre, told Reuters, adding that this kind of activity could go on for weeks if not months.”This is just the beginning,” she said.St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which has a population of just over 100,000, has not experienced volcanic activity since 1979, when an eruption created approximately $100 million in damages. An eruption by La Soufriere in 1902 killed more than 1,000 people. The name means “sulfur outlet” in French.The eruption column was estimated to reach 10 km (6.2 miles) high, the seismic research center said. Ash fall could affect the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada.”The ash plume may cause flight delays due to diversions,” the center said on Twitter. “On the ground, ash can cause discomfort in persons suffering with respiratory illnesses and will impact water resources.”Local media have in recent days also reported increased activity from Mount Pelee on the island of Martinique, which lies to the north of St. Vincent beyond St. Lucia.Heavy ash fall halts evacuationSome 4,500 residents near the volcano had evacuated already via ships and by road, Gonsalves said at a news conference on Friday. Heavy ash fall had halted the evacuation efforts somewhat due to poor visibility, according to St. Vincent’s National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO).”The place in general is in a frenzy,” said Lavern King, 28, a shelter volunteer. “People are still being evacuated from the red zone, it started yesterday evening and into last night.”Gonsalves said that depending on the extent of the damage, it could be four months before evacuees could return home.Welling up with tears, he said neighboring islands such as Dominica, Grenada and Antigua had agreed to take evacuees in and cruise lines could ferry them over — as long as they got vaccinated first.That though could prove a challenge, said opposition senator Shevern John, 42.”People are very scared of the vaccine and they opt out of coming to a shelter because eventually they would have to adhere to the protocol,” she said. Shelters are also having to limit the number of evacuees they take due to COVID-19 protocols.Vincentians would have to wait for further scientific analysis to know what steps to take next, she said.”It can go for a few days or a few weeks,” she said. “At the moment, both ends of the island are covered in ash and very dark.”
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Day: April 9, 2021
Malawi’s Ministry of Health expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine to all Malawians 18 and older. The decision was prompted by the approaching expiration date for about 40,000 doses the country received from the African Union. Malawi’s government has so far received 512,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it is administering to the public.The first batch of 360,000 doses came in early March under the COVAX program. A few weeks later, Malawi received other allotments of 50,000 doses from India and 102,000 doses from the African Union.Joshua Malango, the spokesperson for Malawi’s Ministry of Health, said 40,000 of the African Union doses expire Tuesday, while the other vaccine expires in July. He believes there is still time to distribute the AU doses before they become unusable. “We have four days to go,” he said. “We still have tomorrow, we still have Sunday, and Monday.”In a televised situation update Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said all Malawians 18 and older are now eligible to be vaccinated. Critics have questioned why Malawi accepted doses with such a short shelf life. However, government officials said they did not anticipate the drugs would be unused given the huge turnout of people during the early days of the vaccination process. Dr. Mike Chisema, a manager for the expanded immunization program, said the ministry also started deploying medical workers to encourage vaccinations. “The aim is to be near those who would want to receive the vaccine,” he said. “We don’t want people to travel long distances to seek vaccination. This will also help people with disabilities to access the vaccine without difficulties.”The ministry said this week that out of its 512,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, it has used only 164,000, mostly in urban areas. Health care activists blame the low rate on a lack of civic education about the vaccine, especially in rural areas.
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U.S. Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that hospitalizations and new COVID-19 cases continue to rise, driven by infections in younger adults, who have not yet been vaccinated.During a White House COVID-19 Response Team virtual news briefing, Walensky noted hospitalizations for COVID-19 rose by seven percent over the past seven days, while new daily infections rose by an average of two percent during the same period.She noted most of those new cases were among adults age 55 and younger, who have not yet been vaccinated. Walensky also noted a decrease in hospitalizations for those age 65 and older, demonstrating the importance of getting vaccinated, since many older Americans are eligible and have received vaccines.To further encourage people to get shots, President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, Anthony Fauci, addressed the issue of vaccine hesitancy based on mistrust of how quickly COVID-19 vaccines were made available. Fauci detailed the years of research that went into developing vaccines.“The bottom line is, this did not happen in eleven months. It was due to an extraordinary multidisciplinary effort …that had been underway for decades before the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fauci told reporters on Friday.Also at the briefing, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy addressed the toll the pandemic has taken on mental health in the United States, citing new statistics this week showing one in eight people who contracted COVID-19 were diagnosed with a new psychiatric or neurological condition, with anxiety and depression chief among them.Murthy said younger adults, minorities, essential workers, and unpaid caregivers were disproportionately affected by mental health issues. The U.S. government is providing $3 billion to states to address the problem, and the recently-passed American Rescue plan included another $3.56 billion for prevention and treatment of mental health and substance abuse disorders.The surgeon general said getting vaccinated can also provide joy and relief to people suffering from pandemic-related anxiety.The White House COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said three million vaccinations were delivered between April 2 and April 8, with a total of 158 million vaccinations delivered so far. He said that puts the country on track to meet President Biden’s goal of having 200 million Americans vaccinated by the end of April, his first 100 days in office.
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DMX, the raspy-voiced hip-hop artist who produced the songs “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” and “Party Up (Up in Here)” and who rapped with a trademark delivery that was often paired with growls, barks and “What!” as an ad-lib, has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 50.
The Grammy-nominated performer died after suffering “catastrophic cardiac arrest,” according to the hospital in White Plains, New York, where he died. He was rushed there from his home April 2.
A statement from relatives said he died “with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days.”
The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, had struggled with drug addiction since his teenage years. His lawyer, Murray Richman, had earlier said he could not confirm reports that DMX overdosed.
DMX made a splash in rap music in 1998 with his first studio album, “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot,” which debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The multiplatinum-selling album was anchored by several hits including “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” “Get At Me Dog,” “Stop Being Greedy” and “How It’s Goin’ Down.”
DMX followed up with four straight chart-topping albums including “… And Then There Was X,” “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood,” “The Great Depression” and “Grand Champ.” He released seven albums, earned three Grammy nominations and was named favorite rap/hip-hop artist at the 2000 American Music Awards.
DMX arrived on the rap scene around the same time as Jay-Z, Ja Rule and others who dominated the charts and emerged as platinum-selling acts. They were all part of rap crews, too: DMX fronted the Ruff Ryders collective, which helped launch the careers of Grammy winners Eve and Swizz Beatz, and relaunch The Lox, formerly signed to Bad Boy Records. Ruff Ryders had success on the charts and on radio with its “Ryde or Die” compilation albums.
Along with his musical career, DMX paved his way as an actor. He starred in the 1998 film “Belly” and appeared in 2000’s “Romeo Must Die” with Jet Li and Aaliyah. DMX and Aaliyah teamed up for “Come Back in One Piece” on the film’s soundtrack.
The rapper would later open Aaliyah’s tribute music video, “Miss You,” alongside her other friends and collaborators, including Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim and Queen Latifah, after Aaliyah’s 2001 death in a plane crash at age 22.
The rapper also starred in 2001’s “Exit Wounds” with Steven Seagal and 2003’s “Cradle 2 the Grave” with Li.
But while DMX made his mark as one of hip-hop’s most recognizable names for his rap artistry and as an actor, the rapper was personally stifled by his legal battles — he was repeatedly arrested and jailed within a decade — and drug addiction. His addiction first took hold at age 14 when smoked a marijuana cigarette that was laced with cocaine.
DMX pleaded guilty in 2004 after he posed as an undercover federal agent a nd crashed his SUV through a security gate at New York’s Kennedy Airport. He was arrested in 2008 on drug and animal cruelty charges following an overnight raid on his house in Phoenix. He tried to barricade himself in his bedroom but emerged when a SWAT team entered his home.
In 2010, he was sentenced to a year in prison for violating terms of his probation. After he was admitted to rehab numerous times over the next year, he said he had finally beat his drug addiction.
First responders helped bring DMX back to life after he was found in a hotel parking lot in New York in 2016. The rapper said he suffered from asthma.
A couple years later, DMX was sentenced to a year in prison for tax fraud. Prosecutors said he concocted a multiyear scheme to hide millions of dollars in income from the IRS and get around nearly $2 million in tax liabilities.
After his release, DMX planned a 32-date tour to mark the 20th anniversary of “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot.” But the rapper canceled a series of shows to check himself into a rehab facility in 2019. In an Instagram post, his team said he apologized for the canceled shows and thanked his fans for the continued support.
Besides his legal troubles, DMX took the initiative to help the less fortunate. He gave a group of Philadelphia men advice during a surprise appearance at a homeless support group meeting in 2017, and helped a Maine family with its back-to-school purchases a couple years later.
Last year, DMX faced off against Snoop Dogg in a Verzuz battle, which drew more than 500,000 viewers.
He is survived by his 15 children and mother.
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Germany’s top health officials said Friday a nationwide lockdown of two to four weeks is necessary to bring a new wave of COVID-19 infections under control.
Health Minister Jens Spahn and Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for Infectious Disease President Lothar Wieler told reporters in Berlin there were 25,000 new infections reported as of Friday, which Spahn said were too many. He said a nationwide lockdown is needed to get the rate of infection permanently below 100 per 100,000 people.
Spahn said the infection rates are being felt most in the hospitals and intensive care units, which he said are currently treating nearly 4,500 patients across the country. Wieler said RKI hospital surveillance data indicates more and more of these seriously ill patients are young people.
He said that fact adds more stress to hospitals because young patients tend to require respiratory care longer than older ones.
Spahn said that burden on the hospitals is why nationwide action is needed. “This is why we must break this third wave as quickly as possible. This means reducing contacts and limiting mobility.”
But Germany’s federal government and regional governments are divided on new COVID-19-related restrictions. Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a tighter lockdown as some regions and cities unilaterally ease restrictions.
Meanwhile, Spahn said vaccinations in Germany were “on a good path, with thousands of ordinary doctor practices this week joining the vaccination campaign.”
Germany now has almost 15 percent of its population vaccinated with one dose and 5.8% have received both shots.
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A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrive at the International Space Station (ISS) Friday for a six-month mission.
NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and Russians Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov blasted off as scheduled on board of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The three were launched in a capsule named in honor of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person in space 60 years ago, on April 12, 1961.
The mission also marks the 40th anniversary of NASA’s first space shuttle launch.
Their journey to the station takes about three hours and includes two Earth orbits.
Vande Hei, Novitskiy and Dubrov will work on biology, biotechnology and Earth science experiments during their stay at the ISS.
NASA’s Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov are set to return from the space station on April 17.
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Prince Philip, the Greek-born consort to Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest sitting monarch, has died at the age of 99. The Duke of Edinburgh is best remembered for his sense of duty to the queen, and also his sense of humor. Henry Ridgwell reports for VOA from London.
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Prince Philip, the Greek-born consort to Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest sitting monarch, has died at the age of 99.
In a statement released to the media and posted on the gates of Buckingham Palace Friday morning, the royal family said, “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.”
“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/XOIDQqlFPn— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 9, 2021Prince Philip had spent several weeks in the hospital earlier this year for a pre-existing heart condition. He underwent surgery at London’s St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and was discharged in March.
The Duke of Edinburgh will be best remembered for his sense of duty to the queen, and also his sense of humor.
Philip Mountbatten was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921. His father was Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and his mother, Princess Alice, was a great-granddaughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria.
Philip Mountbatten met Elizabeth in 1939 while he was a naval cadet and she a shy princess. Philip forged a distinguished naval career during World War II, receiving special mention for his role during the Battle of Cape Matapan off Greece, where he saved his ship from a night bomber attack.FILE – In this Aug. 1951 photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, stands with her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne at Clarence House.Philip and Elizabeth married in 1947 in Westminster Abbey, the first royal wedding to be filmed.
When Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father, King George VI in 1952, Philip found it very difficult, says Philip Eade, author of the book “Young Prince Philip.”
“He had been an extremely successful, extremely highly regarded naval officer in the British navy, and he was tipped from the very top,” Eade told VOA. “He was tipped to become head of the navy and so to have to give that all up in order to become second fiddle to his wife. He was a very overtly masculine character and not one who is going to take easily to this sort of life of walking a couple of paces behind the queen.” FILE – Britain’s Prince Philip waits for the bridal procession following the wedding of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, England.When asked in an interview what he thought of his royal role, Philip replied, “I don’t.”
“He grew up with a very strong sense of duty,” Eade says, “and he realized that his duty was first and foremost to support the queen in her work, and that was really by far and away his most important, how he saw his role, that was what was at the top of his list.”
Over seven decades, Prince Philip navigated the highs and lows of a Royal Family permanently in the public eye. He helped the family cope with difficult times in the 1990s, including the divorces of Prince Charles and Diana, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Diana was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 alongside her fiancé Dodi Fayed.
Philip was known for his wry sense of humor, which came in handy whenever he had to brush aside any suggestion of his role as a secondary figure. He once said his best speech was in 1956, when he opened the Summer Olympics with eight words: “I declare open the Olympic games of Melbourne.”FILE – In this April 12, 1954, photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh leave Freedom Hall in Colombo, Sri Lanka, after opening parliament.His jokes on occasion caused offense but he had a serious and lasting effect on the monarchy, pushing it to change with the times, says Matthew Glencross, a royal historian at Kings College London.
“That is something Philip always saw for himself, is this idea that the monarchy must evolve. For example, he was very pro having the cameras in for Elizabeth the Second’s coronation in 1953. You’d think because of his reputation that he’d be one of the people who was quite conservative. Actually, no. He saw television as the future. People want to see more of their monarchy,” Glencross said.
Prince Philip retired from official royal duties in 2017. A year later, he was involved in a serious car accident while driving near the Royal Family’s country estate at Sandringham. His last public appearance was in July 2020 at Windsor Castle.FILE – Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II are seen with members of the British royal family.Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II had four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. They have eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Fulfilling his roles as consort and father, Prince Philip had a lasting effect on a 12-hundred-year-old institution, a monarchy that is more visible and relevant to its people as a legacy that he forged, effectively, from his place two steps behind.
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Around $1 trillion of food is lost or wasted each year around the world, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Reversing that trend could preserve enough food to feed 2 billion people. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at how COVID-19 has spurred innovative efforts to prevent food waste and hunger in the United States.
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Plans by the world’s largest contract chipmaker for a record $100 billion capacity expansion will just mildly dent a growing worldwide shortage of semiconductors for gear such as high-speed notebook computers, 5G smartphones and newer vehicles, tech experts believe.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said in an April 1 legal notice to the Taipei stock exchange that it would use the money over three years on “leading technology” for manufacturing and R&D to “answer demands from the market.” The notice specifically cites demand for chips used in 5G-enabled and high-performance devices.That amount would set a dollar-value record for the company, which is better known as TSMC, said Brady Wang, an analyst in Taipei with the market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research.TSMC’s investment will ease “anxiety” among clients worried about semiconductor supply-chain instability caused in part by Sino-U.S. trade tension, said Kent Chong, managing director of professional services firm PwC Legal in Taipei. Its clients include multiple American hardware developers including Apple.“Overall, it would indeed increase capacity, without any question,” Chong said. American clients hope to source chips in the United States, he added. The company headquartered southwest of Taipei is already planning to open a $12 billion plant in the U.S. state of Arizona. “TSMC is obviously the forefront runner in bringing the whole supply chain to the U.S.,” Chong said.TSMC said in its stock market filing it is “working closely with our customers to address their needs in a sustainable manner.”Years-long shortageAnalysts caution, though, that the ever-growing demand for chips paired with the lag time in building new production plants will extend the shortage for years, despite TSMC’s investment.“You can throw a lot of money at it, but it’s not going to solve the problem,” said Sean Su, an independent political and technology consultant in Taipei.He pointed to popularity of home-use devices during the pandemic and a possible long-term reliance on this technology in “hybrid” online-offline economy after COVID-19 subsides.“Demand is off the ceiling,” Su said. “People want smartphones. People want this and that more than ever. People want tablets all of a sudden. Every single child in the house now needs a computer instead of sharing it.”Remote study and telework, two trends that emerged during the 2020 coronavirus outbreak, particularly raised demand last year for chips that run high-speed notebook PCs. That trend is piggybacking on prepandemic demand for 5G smartphones and new devices that run on artificial intelligence.Automakers joined the mix, too, last year as they placed orders for automated vehicles and electric cars. Because of the current chip shortage, they must wait until at least early 2022 as production capacity is now “fully loaded,” said Wen Liu, industry analyst with the Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute.Feeling an additional pinchWorld demand for chips should increase from $450 billion last year to about $600 billion in 2024, market research firm Gartner says. Industry revenue had already grown 5.4% from 2019 to 2020, according to fellow market research company IDC. TSMC and South Korean technology giant Samsung are the biggest chipmakers today and make the highest-grade chips.Chinese semiconductor clients will feel an additional pinch because of curbs introduced by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, Su said. The Trump administration barred companies, including those based offshore, from working with a list of Chinese firms considered national security risks.“They will be [affected in China] due to trade embargoes as is,” Su said. “Every year, companies fight over limited batches of top-end processors.”China-based chip buyers include developers of three of the world’s five biggest smartphone brands by market share in late 2020.Most of the world’s chipmakers, such as the growing China-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., lag in the equipment and knowhow to make chips that run fast on low power, tech analysts believe. TSMC’s investment will help it stay ahead of any up-and-coming peers, Wang said.“This is actually because [TSMC] saw a new opportunity, which would mainly be in 5G or high-performance PCs or demands for other digitization needs as that’s the demand following COVID-19,” Wang said. TSMC itself probably does not expect the planned $100 billion outlay to ease today’s chip shortage, he said.The company says in its stock exchange notice that “multiyear mega-trends…are expected to fuel strong demand for our semiconductor technologies in the next several years,” while the pandemic “accelerates digitalization in every aspect.”
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CDC says cases of coronavirus clusters are increasing in the U.S. in youth sports and day care centers, while hospitals are reporting more younger adults are being admitted with severe cases of the disease. As Mariama Diallo reports, coronavirus variants are to blame for the rise.
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The United States officially joined a U.N. group on climate and security on Thursday as part of the Biden administration’s focus on mitigating all impacts of the climate crisis.“This is a critical issue for the United Nations, especially because the threat isn’t just to all of our climates. It’s also a collective security issue for all of us,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters.She noted that the Pentagon has declared climate change both a national security threat and a threat multiplier.“That’s because unpredictable and extreme weather will make vital resources, like food and water, even more scarce in impoverished countries,” she said. “Scarcity spurs desperation, and desperation, of course, leads to violence.”She said at the current pace, millions of people across the planet will be driven to mass migration due to the impacts of global warming, which would undermine peace and security.“The good news is, we can build resilience, we can stave off security threats, and we can even generate economic opportunity, if we work together,” the ambassador said.The U.N. Group of Friends on Climate and Security was created in 2018 and now, with the U.S., has 56 member states.“The United States was instrumental to the development and ultimate adoption of the Paris Agreement,” said Margo Dieye, ambassador of Nauru, who along with Germany co-chairs the group.“I expect that they will bring that same level of commitment to coordinated international action to the Group of Friends on Climate and Security,” Dieye said.The Paris Climate Agreement, signed by virtually every country in the world, aims to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit the planet’s temperature increase during this century to 2 degrees Celsius, while working to limit the increase even further to 1.5 degrees.Among its goals, the Group of Friends hopes to get U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a special envoy on climate and security. Guterres already has two climate envoys: Michael Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor and Democratic presidential candidate, is the organization’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions; Canadian Mark Carney is the envoy in charge of financing for climate action.Pivotal year“2021 is a make-or-break year for collective action against the climate emergency,” Guterres told a Security Council meeting on the subject in February.U.S. President Joe Biden will host a Leaders Summit on Climate later this month, and in November, nations will go to Glasgow, Scotland, for a review conference on implementation of the Paris Agreement.While there has been progress, it has been insufficient to meet the agreement’s targets on time. Guterres hopes nations will step up their national commitments at the two meetings this year.Biden has committed to putting climate at the center of his administration’s policies.Hours after being sworn in on January 20, he signed the instrument to rejoin the 2015 Paris climate accord, from which former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2017, saying it was “in America’s economic interest to do so.”Biden also appointed former Secretary of State John Kerry as the United States’ first presidential envoy on climate and made him a part of his National Security Council.
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