FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — In Sierra Leone, a cheap, synthetic drug is ravaging youth. Trash-strewn alleys are lined with boys and young men slumped in addiction. Healthcare services are severely limited. One frustrated community has set up what it calls a treatment center, run by volunteers. But harsh measures can be used. The project in … Read more
GENEVA — A global treaty to fight pandemics like COVID is going to have to wait: After more than two years of negotiations, rich and poor countries have failed — for now — to come up with a plan for how the world might respond to the next pandemic. After COVID-19 triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended … Read more
As a growing number of overseas Chinese students run into financial difficulties due to the declining wealth of their families, many go online to express their grief and seek advice on how to cope with the situation. Andersen Ross Photography Inc | Digitalvision | Getty Images When Xiao Zhang went to the U.S. to study … Read more
BANGKOK — The whereabouts of a Chinese citizen journalist who served four years in prison for reporting on the early days of the pandemic in Wuhan and was expected to be released Monday are unknown, raising concern from activists. Zhang Zhan, who had been sentenced to four years in prison on charges of “picking quarrels … Read more
NEW YORK: It was 7 a.m. on a recent Friday when Wang Gang, a 36-year-old Chinese immigrant, jostled for a day job in New York City’s Flushing neighborhood. When a potential employer pulled up near the street corner, Wang and dozens of other men swarmed around the car. They were hoping to be picked for … Read more
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bill that would have consolidated six South Carolina heath care agencies and was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the General Assembly died on the session’s final day Thursday in a procedural move by a member angry he was mocked by his colleagues. Republican Rep. Josiah Magnuson has been against the … Read more
GENEVA — After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak. A ninth … Read more
LONDON — The pharma giant AstraZeneca has requested that the European authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine be pulled, according to the EU medicines regulator. In an update on the European Medicines Agency’s website Wednesday, the regulator said that the approval for AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria had been withdrawn “at the request of the marketing authorization holder.” AstraZeneca’s … Read more
An Ohio doctor who drew national attention when she told state legislators that COVID-19 vaccines made people magnetic has had her medical license reinstated after it was suspended for failing to cooperate with an investigation. The Ohio State Medical Board recently voted to restore Sherri Tenpenny’s license after she agreed to pay a $3,000 fine … Read more
A large staffing firm that performed COVID-19 contact tracing for Pennsylvania and exposed the private medical information of about 72,000 residents will pay $2.7 million in a settlement with the Justice Department and a company whistleblower, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health paid Atlanta-based Insight Global tens of millions of dollars to … Read more
