The red carpet is back. After the coronavirus pandemic forced awards shows to be canceled or go virtual over the past year, movie stars and Hollywood A-listers returned Sunday to strut their stuff, live and in person, on perhaps the most iconic red carpet of all: at the Oscars.It was a smaller-than-usual affair with fewer celebrities and cameras — and strict COVID-19 protocols in place. But there was no less glamour to grace the carpet set up at Los Angeles’ Union Station, where the 93rd annual Academy Awards will take place this year.Wearing a double-breasted black tuxedo, actor Paul Raci, 73, was among the first to step in front of the microphones on the carpet.”I don’t think I could have it any other way; it means a lot. It’s perfect,” said Raci, who has been nominated for best supporting actor for his role in the movie “The Sound of Metal.”TV hosts and personalities described a pent-up red carpet energy, with stars and spectators alike eager to forget, albeit temporarily, the rigors of 2020.”Minari” star Steven Yeun, one of the nominees for best actor, said it felt strange to be out and interacting with people.”I haven’t talked to random people in a while, so this is crazy,” said Yeun, 37.Glenn Close, nominated for the eighth time for an Oscar for her portrayal of tough-love parent Mamaw in “Hillbilly Elegy,” walked the red carpet in a blue tunic and pants by Armani Prive.”It’s not two miles long, so that’s lovely,” Close, 74, joked, referring to this year’s shortened red carpet.”I’m very excited, I think it will be very, very different,” she said of the ceremony.”It feels like a special season, like a special time to remember,” said best supporting actor nominee Leslie Odom Jr., 39, who wore one of the more eye-catching outfits of the night, a head-to-toe gold Brioni suit.Andra Day arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, Pool)2021 Oscars Red CarpetThe red carpet makes a comebackChina native Chloe Zhao, who is nominated for best director for “Nomadland,” brought two the van dwellers who appeared as themselves in the movie. Fashion commentators hailed the baby blue gown with butterflylike shoulders worn by Regina King, director of the Oscar-nominated movie “One Night in Miami,” as one of the red carpet’s showstoppers.Zendaya also drew praise for her Oscars style, a yellow midriff cutout dress.Gold proved to be a popular choice among nominees. Mulligan of “Promising Young Woman” stunned in a gold gown on the red carpet, and Andra Day, star of biopic “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” wore a midriff-baring gold dress.”I really can’t believe we’re around people,” said best supporting actress nominee Amanda Seyfried, who appeared in a bright red dress with a plunging neckline.Some of the others on the red carpet aside from the actors and actresses wore masks, and interviewers kept their social distance from their subjects.Some of the nominees and other celebrities took to social media ahead of the ceremony to share preparations for this year’s awards show.On Instagram, Close silently toasted in front of the camera while getting ready for the show.A mask-wearing Laura Dern held what looked like a swab for a COVID-19 test in a shot the actress shared with her Instagram followers and captioned “Oscars prep!”
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Day: April 25, 2021
As the world marks World Malaria Day (April 25), several African countries continue to battle the impact of a preventable disease claiming thousands of lives. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, malaria has claimed an estimated 380,000 lives in 2018 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). But there are some signs of hope in Somalia.This year’s theme was reaching the “Zero Malaria” target as the WHO celebrated the achievement of those countries that are on the verge of eliminating the disease.While Somalia is still not malaria-free, the country’s authorities say there has been some progress in the past three years in decreasing the number of deaths from the disease. That is welcome news for the Horn of Africa nation struggling to curb other challenges, including drought and lack of security. Dr. Ali Abdulrahman, manager of Somalia’s national malaria control department, pointed out that deaths from malaria have declined, from 31 in 2018, 22 in 2019 to five last year.”There was a lot of interventions we have done including distribution of long-lasting insecticide nets to the target population, especially IDPs (internally displaced persons) and other vulnerable and indoor residual spraying were done in the riverine areas and also case management was going on in all health facilities in the country that was interventions done to reduce cases,” Abdulrahman said.Somalia has a weak health care system and is poorly resourced, according to the WHO. Due to decades of insecurity and conflict, the country’s institutions struggle to provide access to malaria prevention and treatment to those at risk of contracting the disease, including pregnant women and children. Falestine Mohamed Abukar, a mother of three who lives in an internally displaced persons camp in Mogadishu, said she paid $40 last year to get medicine from a local pharmacy where she was referred when she tested positive for malaria and typhoid.She said she was very weak in bed and when she visited the nearest health center but the health care providers said they did not have the medicine. They then referred her to get it from private pharmacies and pay out of pocket.Dr. Jamal Amran from the country’s World Health Organization office says WHO is working with Somali authorities to improve access to malaria medication. “This year will start to do rapid assessment needs of IDPs and other neglected groups like nomads to see how and what the factors are preventing them to utilize health services properly. And based on all findings, we will, along with other partners, develop [a] specific strategy for health services for these minorities, and of course, with the involvement with civil society groups and the community and also workers especially now with COVID-19,” Amran said.Hailed as a possible breakthrough, a new malaria vaccine has shown to be 77% effective in early trials to combat the disease. And once approved for use, countries like Somalia could benefit in continuing their fight against malaria and meet the malaria-free goal.
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In March, one of the world’s biggest container ships became stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal, creating a commercial logjam and spikes in the cost of oil. At a training facility in France, mariners are learning how to avoid a similar predicament. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.
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This year’s commemoration of World Malaria Day celebrates the progress being made in eliminating the disease. The World Health Organization is calling for action to build on these achievements and continue the work to create a malaria-free world.Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple other crises, 24 countries are reported to have stopped malaria transmission for three or more years by the end of 2020. To date, 38 countries and territories have been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization, including most recently El Salvador, Algeria and Sri Lanka.WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said malaria elimination is a viable goal for all countries, no matter how far they may be from the ultimate target.“WHO has identified a set of 25 countries … with a potential to reach zero malaria within the next five years. Working together, building on each other’s success and supported with sustained funding, we can dare to dream of a malaria-free world.”Malaria is a preventable, treatable disease. Yet, every year it kills more than 400,000 people, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, more than 200 million people become newly infected with this deadly parasitic disease every year.Over the last 20 years, WHO reports more than 7.5 million deaths and 1.5 billion cases have been averted, most in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this remarkable progress, director of WHO’s Global Malaria Program, Pedro Alonso, says most cases and deaths continue to take place in Africa.“While Africa is the source of many of the big success stories in terms of impact, it is also the place that carries the brunt of the disease and where we are finding it hard to make further progress. Nigeria and DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), because they are also very large populations, account for nearly 50% of all the global burden of disease.WHO says political commitment is crucial to ending malaria. The U.N. health agency says most countries that have reached zero malaria have strong primary health care systems that ensure access to malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment.WHO estimates up to $4.5 billion a year will be required to stamp out malaria.
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COVID-19 has “shaken” India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his monthly radio address Sunday.349,691 new COVID cases had been recorded in the previous 24-hour period, yet another daily record, the country’s health ministry said Sunday.The new infection figures are likely undercounted, public health officials have warned. A recent account in The New York Times said, “however staggering” the reports are from the ministry of a string of days with more than 300,000 new infections, the numbers “represent just a fraction of the real reach of the virus’s spread.”The U.S. is under pressure from the international community to release some of its warehoused COVID vaccines to India and other countries that need the shots.In addition to hundreds of thousands of new daily COVID cases, India is also experiencing an oxygen shortage, literally leaving COVID patients gasping for air.The Biden administration’s top medical adviser on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Friday the U.S. is attempting to help India contain its coronavirus surge by providing technical support and assistance.Phnom Penh closed its markets Saturday. The Cambodian capital went into lockdown April 15, but markets remained open. High infection rates at the markets, however, prompted the local government to issue shutdown orders Friday for the markets. The snap move went into effect Saturday, catching many residents off guard, causing them to plead with the government for food. The market lockdown is in effect until May 7.According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, Cambodia has one of the world’s lowest COVID infection rates with 9,359 cases.The governor of the U.S. state of New York announced Saturday the state would immediately resume vaccinating residents with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, despite evidence that it is linked to rare cases of blood clots.New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement in a statement one day after a U.S. health panel recommended ending a pause on the use of the vaccine.“World-renowned public health experts from the federal government and our own independent state task force have reviewed the data and reaffirmed that the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can resume,” Cuomo said. “The state of New York will resume administration of this vaccine at all of our state-run sites effective immediately.”Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be resumed in the U.S. after regulators had paused it last week to review reports of rare but severe blood clots in a handful of Americans who had received the shot.The panel voted 10-4 for resumption of the vaccine, arguing that benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday there were more than 146 million global COVID-19 infections. The U.S. remains at the top of the list as the country with the most infections, with more than 32 million. India is second on the list with almost 17 million cases, followed by Brazil with 14.3 million.
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Thailand on Sunday set a record for the daily number of COVID-19 deaths for the second consecutive day, as authorities step up the response to a rapid third wave of infections after about a year of relative success slowing the spread of coronavirus.Thailand will slow down issuing travel documents for foreign nationals from India due to the outbreak of a new coronavirus B.1.617 variant, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s COVID-19 taskforce.“For foreigners from India entering Thailand, right now we will slow this down,” said Taweesin, adding that 131 Thai nationals in India already registered to travel in May will still be allowed into the country.Thailand reported 2,438 new coronavirus cases and 11 new deaths, bringing the total number of infections to 55,460 and fatalities to 140 since the pandemic started last year.Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on his Facebook page on Saturday said provincial governors can close public venues and impose curfews if necessary to stop the virus spreading.Authorities in the capital city of Bangkok have ordered the closure of venues including parks, gyms, cinemas and day care centers from April 26 through May 9.Shopping malls remain open, but the Thai Retailers Association has restricted store opening hours in Bangkok as well as in 17 more of the country’s 73 provinces.Thailand kept its number of infection cases far lower than many other countries throughout last year, but a new outbreak, spurred partly by the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant, has resulted in over 24,000 cases and 46 deaths in just 25 days.The rising figures have prompted concern over the number of hospital beds, particularly as government policy is to admit anyone testing positive for the novel coronavirus, even those without symptoms.Health officials have insisted there are still over 20,000 available beds nationwide.To free beds quicker, the prime minister has said health authorities are considering reducing the quarantine period for asymptomatic cases to 10 days from 14, with the remaining four days to be spent in self-isolation at home.
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During Ramadan many mosques are open, but because of attendance limits there’s no guarantee of a place to pray. But new phone apps can help solve that problem, as VOA’s Yuni Salim found out, in this report narrated by Nova Poerwadi.
Camera: Yuni Salim Producer: Bronwyn Benito
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The number of COVID-19 jabs administered globally surpassed the 1 billion mark on Saturday, offering hope after months of pandemic misery, even as the number of coronavirus cases worldwide hit another daily record, mainly because of an explosion of the virus in India.At least 1,002,938,540 doses have been administered in 207 countries and territories, according to an AFP tally.Nevertheless, the number of new infections topped 893,000 worldwide on Friday, a one-day record.And India accounted for more than a third of those, with authorities there announcing 346,786 more new cases on Saturday, a record for a single country since the start of the pandemic.The pandemic has now killed more than 3 million people worldwide since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019.And India, with its population of 1.3 billion, has become the new hot spot, with the current surge blamed on a new virus variant and recent “super spreader” public events. The country reported 2,624 new deaths in the past 24 hours.Ambulances carrying COVID-19 patients line up waiting for their turn to be attended to at a dedicated COVID-19 government hospital in Ahmedabad, India, April 22, 2021. Indian authorities scrambled Saturday to get oxygen tanks to hospitals.Transporting oxygenOverwhelmed by the devastating new surge, the Indian government scrambled to organize special trains to get oxygen supplies to worst-hit cities.One “oxygen express” carrying 30,000 liters of oxygen arrived in northern Lucknow at dawn on Saturday, where armed guards were waiting to escort trucks to hospitals.The Indian air force also was being used to transport oxygen tankers and other supplies around the country and to bring oxygen equipment from Singapore.Thailand was also grappling with a spiraling caseload.Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said Saturday that more than 1,400 COVID-19 patients were waiting to be admitted to hospitals.”If the outbreak becomes more severe, [the government] may consider reducing hospital quarantine for asymptomatic people from 14 days to 10 days,” he said in a move intended to free up hospital beds.FILE – A shipment of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the COVAX global initiative arrives in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Feb. 25, 2021.With the pandemic still showing no sign of slowing, governments around the world are placing their hopes in vaccines.And worldwide, the number of vaccine doses administered has doubled in less than a month.Nevertheless, while the majority of poor countries have also started to vaccinate — mainly thanks to the COVAX program — inoculation is still largely a privilege of high-income countries. Home to 16 percent of the world’s population, they have administered 47 percent of vaccine doses.By contrast, low-income countries account for just 0.2 percent of shots so far.In the U.S., regulators have approved the restart of a rollout of Johnson & Johnson vaccines halted over blood-clotting concerns.Belgium: J&J jabs for all adultsIn Europe, Belgium said Saturday that it would authorize the J&J shot for all adults, having already received 36,000 doses and expecting a total of 1.4 million between April and June.The European Union as a whole said it would have enough vaccines to immunize 70 percent of its adult population by the end of July.A 91-year-old British grandmother, Margaret Keenan, who on December 8 became the first person in the Western world to get an approved coronavirus vaccine, urged people to get inoculated.”It really is the best thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “I’m telling everyone to go and get it … I hope everyone comes forward.”But despite the optimism, the threat of the virus remains ever-present, with Germany implementing tougher new lockdown rules, including night curfews and school closures, after the government passed a disputed new law designed to slow infections.The controversial new rules — passed this week amid huge protests in Berlin — will apply in all regions with incidence rates of more than 100 new infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days.Demonstrators take part in an anti-lockdown “Unite for Freedom” protest, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, April 24, 2021.And in Britain, ongoing restrictions continued to fuel a great deal of anger.Huge crowds protested in London on Saturday against Britain’s remaining coronavirus restrictions, the mandatory use of masks and the possible introduction of so-called vaccine passports.Britain began to gradually lift COVID-19 restrictions last month after months of curbs and a successful mass vaccination campaign. Pubs were allowed to serve customers outdoors this month and nonessential shops reopened.The demonstrators marched along several major arteries, including the main shopping district Oxford Street, with videos and photos showing thousands in attendance.Hundreds then rallied in Hyde Park late in the afternoon following the march, an AFP reporter said.Organizers used various websites and online platform pages to encourage turnout, despite curbs that limit outdoor gatherings to 30 people.
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