Apr232021 by DmediaNo Comments

SpaceX Aiming for Friday Morning Launch to ISS

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SpaceX is set to launch its third crew to the International Space Station early Friday, reusing a rocket and crew capsule in a human mission for the first time.The Crew-2 mission blasts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:49 a.m. Eastern Time (0949 GMT), after being delayed a day by adverse weather along the flight path."It seems the weather is cooperating, so looks like we will try to launch tomorrow !!!" tweeted French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who will become the first European to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon."Our friends on the @Space_Station are expecting us to show up and we don't want to be late. They even installed my bedroom recently and literally made my bed. Such nice hosts!"The extra "bed" is necessary…


Apr232021 by DmediaNo Comments

Mexico’s Drought Reaches Critical Levels as Lakes Dry Up

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Drought conditions now cover 85% of Mexico, and residents of the nation's central region said Thursday that lakes and reservoirs are simply drying up, including the country's second-largest body of fresh water.The mayor of Mexico City said the drought was the worst in 30 years, and the problem can be seen at the reservoirs that store water from other states to supply the capital.Some of them, like the Villa Victoria reservoir west of the capital, are at one-third of their normal capacity, with a month and a half to go before any significant rain is expected.Isais Salgado, 60, was trying to fill his water tank truck at Villa Victoria, a task that normally takes him just half an hour. On Thursday he estimated it was taking 3½ hours to pump…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

The Week in Space

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NASA makes history with its flying robot on Mars, a new commander takes the helm of the International Space Station, and the European Space Agency looks for solutions to the problem of space junk.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. ...


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Environmentalists Warn Dead Sea is Shrinking 

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As the world observes Earth Day later this week, Israeli environmentalists worry that the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth, is disappearing. That is posing environmental dangers and also could affect the Dead Sea’s unique salutary effects.  For VOA, Linda Gradstein reports from the Dead Sea.   Camera:   Ricki Rosen     Produced by:  Bronwyn Benito       ...


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Over 250,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Delivered to Syria

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The Syrian government and the country’s last rebel-controlled enclave received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines Thursday.In a joint statement, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the GAVI vaccine alliance announced the delivery of 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Syria’s government and another 53,800 to the opposition-held area in the northwest.“The delivery is a ray of light for the people of Syria,” the statement said. “It will help health workers to continue delivering life-saving services in an already exhausted health system as a result of the decade-long war.”Although fighting has largely subsided since the March 2020 cease-fire, Syria’s civil war has complicated the delivery of the vaccines, forcing most of them to be shipped through Damascus for government-controlled areas while the rest are routed through the border with…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Record Heat, Rain Marks Europe’s 2020 

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As President Biden hosts a virtual climate summit this Earth Day, a report out Thursday adds more fuel to the planet’s growing crisis, showing record-breaking temperatures in Europe and Arctic Siberia last year. It comes as the European Union announced a key climate deal and financing rules — both sharply criticized by green groups. The findings of the European Union’s climate monitoring service, Copernicus, are grim. Europe was hit by record heat and rainfall last year. The Arctic overall saw its second warmest year. Both regions are warming faster than the global average.  “Europe has probably warmed at twice the rate compared to the globe since the pre-industrial [time]. Whereas the rate of warming in the arctic over the last two decades, have been at least five [times] that of…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Biden Sets Ambitious CO2 Target at Virtual Global Summit on Climate Change 

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President Joe Biden has kicked off a two-day virtual global Summit on Climate with a pledge to substantially reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 2030 and double annual climate change funding to developing countries by 2024.  Forty world leaders as well as climate activists and representatives of international organizations are attending the summit, as VOA’s White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports. ...


Apr222021 by TechmanNo Comments

A Look at Why Ghana Is Attracting IT Firms 

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Ghanaian social media users were in a state of ecstasy earlier this month when the U.S. social networking service, Twitter, announced it was setting up its first African office in Ghana.   President Nana Akufo-Addo described the move as “excellent news.” A statement by Twitter said Ghana’s democratic credentials and support for free speech and online freedoms made it the company’s choice.   Twitter joins Google and other IT firms with offices in Ghana. But why are top IT firms like Twitter choosing the West African country instead of other African nations?   Ghana’s minister of communications and digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, says apart from good governance, the country has set high standards for doing business. “We’re the envy and the toast of many countries around the world. We hold ourselves to high standards," she said. "The…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

NASA’s Mars Rover Makes Its Own Oxygen

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The U.S space agency NASA says its Perseverance rover has converted carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Martian atmosphere to oxygen, a critical step toward future human exploration of Mars.   NASA on Monday said a toaster-size, experimental instrument on the rover called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), produced about 5.4 grams of oxygen in an hour — enough to keep an astronaut healthy for about 10 minutes.   NASA says in regular operation, MOXIE is designed to produce up to 10 grams of oxygen in an hour.   The space agency says MOXIE is an “exploration technology investigation,” like the Ingenuity helicopter and other instruments taken to Mars along with the Perseverance rover. In other words, it is designed to test a certain technology that, if successful,…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Stanford University Disavows Study Claiming Masks ‘Worthless’ Against COVID-19

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The Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, Wednesday issued a statement disavowing a study being circulated online that claims face masks are “worthless” against COVID-19. The report, “Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis,” was published in November in the journal Medical Hypotheses. Its author, Baruch Vainshelboim, claims that “scientific evidence supporting facemasks’ efficacy is lacking” while “adverse physiological, psychological and health effects are established.” Vainshelboim’s credentials are cited as "Cardiology Division, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System/Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States." But Stanford’s statement says that description is inaccurate and has asked for a correction. Stanford says Vainshelboim had no affiliation with the school at the time of the study’s publication and his only affiliation was a one-year term as a visiting…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

India Reports World’s Biggest Single-Day Total of COVID-19 Infections

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India reported 314,835 new COVID-19 infections Thursday, the highest one-day total posted by any nation during the yearlong global pandemic.By contrast, the United States posted 300,310 single day new cases on Jan. 2, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.India, the world’s second-most populous country, is dealing with a second wave of infections that has pushed the country’s health care system to the brink of collapse, with hospitals near capacity and facing an acute shortage of oxygen canisters. The oxygen shortage is so acute that the high court in the capital, New Delhi, ordered the national government to divert oxygen from industrial use to hospitals.“Beg, borrow or steal,” the judges said in response to a petition by a New Delhi hospital.Thursday is the eighth consecutive day India has posted more…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Kenyan Ladies’ Soccer Clubs’ Goal to Reduce Teen Pregnancy

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As teenage pregnancies soared during coronavirus lockdowns in Africa's largest urban slum, Kibera, teachers and parents looked for a way to reduce the problem.  Their idea was to form a women's football (soccer) club, to direct their energy in a healthy way, and they became so good they are about to join Kenya's professional women's soccer league.  Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi. Camera: Robert Lutta ...


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Greta Thunberg Docuseries Amplifies Her Climate Change Fight

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Greta Thunberg turned 18 in January, but she's already made peace with her future: While most college students will change their concentrations multiple times, the Swedish high school student says climate change activism will be her life's mission."In a perfect world, there wouldn't need to be a climate activist, but unfortunately, there will probably still be a need for climate activists for quite some time," she said. "I think I will be doing this for as long as there is a need for people to do this."Thunberg's activism and message is brought to life in a new docuseries, Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World. The three-part series, a co-production between PBS and BBC Studios premiering Thursday on Earth Day, follows the then-16-year-old as she took a gap year…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Students Graduate From Earth Day Planting to Environmental Degrees

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Fifty-one years ago, young people planted trees for the first Earth Day.   Today, students are taking part in environmental law, science and other disciplines to heal the planet.  “You don’t have to be an environmental professional to help the environment,” Briana Allison, an environmental science student at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, wrote to VOA. “Everyone should find a way to get involved in preserving the planet we call home.”Briana Allison, an environmental science student at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. (Photo courtesy of Briana Allison)Climate change is a huge issue for younger people. Those under age 30 are so worried about the planet that experts have given their concern a name: eco-anxiety. Stress about climate change affects their daily lives, said nearly half of 2,017 adults polled in 2019 by the Harris Poll on behalf of the Bongekile Kuhlase studies at…


Apr222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Perseverance Rover Made Oxygen on Mars

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New feat to the credit of Perseverance: the NASA rover transformed carbon dioxide from Mars' atmosphere into oxygen, a first on another planet, the US space agency announced on Wednesday."This is a crucial first attempt to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars," said Jim Reuter, an associate administrator at NASA.The demonstration took place on April 20 and NASA is hoping that future versions of the experimental tool used can pave the way for exploration by humans.Not only could the process produce oxygen for future astronauts to breathe, it could also prevent the large amounts of oxygen needed to propel the rocket on the return trip from Earth.The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (Moxie) is a golden box the size of a car battery, located at the front right…


Apr212021 by DmediaNo Comments

Japan Nears Decision on New COVID Emergency Decree

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The Japanese government may declare a new state of emergency for the cities of Tokyo and Osaka in response to another surge of COVID-19 infections. The Mainichi newspaper reported Wednesday that Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is requesting to impose an emergency decree from April 29 to May 9, which coincides with Japan’s annual “Golden Week” public holiday period.   Tokyo and Osaka, along with several other prefectures, are already under a quasi-state of emergency, with restaurants and bars operating under shortened business hours.  Japan as a whole has been under two separate emergency decrees since the start of the pandemic, the last one having just expired on March 21.  The previous decrees stopped short of imposing a legally binding nationwide lockdown, due to Japan’s post-World War II constitution, which weighs heavily in…


Apr212021 by DmediaNo Comments

New Rules Allowing Small Drones to Fly Over People in US Take Effect

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that final rules announced in December took effect on Wednesday allowing for small drones to fly over people and at night, a significant step toward their eventual use for widespread commercial deliveries.The effective date was delayed about a month during the change in administration. The FAA said its long-awaited rules for the drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, will address security concerns by requiring remote identification technology in most cases to enable their identification from the ground.Previously, small drone operations over people were limited to operations over people who were directly participating in the operation, located under a covered structure, or inside a stationary vehicle - unless operators had obtained a waiver from the FAA.U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday the rules…


Apr212021 by TechmanNo Comments

European Union Moves to Regulate Artificial Intelligence

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The European Union’s executive branch on Wednesday announced proposals designed to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI), banning its use in practices such as surveillance and facial scanning that threaten personal rights.At a news briefing in Brussels, European Commission Executive Vice President and Tech Commissioner Margrethe Vestager noted the benefits of AI in the medical field, agriculture and engineering.“I think those examples illustrate very well what we want AI in Europe to be: a force for progress," she said.The proposed regulations address the human and societal risks associated with specific uses of AI, such as mass surveillance and biometric identification in public places.The draft EU regulations include rules for other uses of artificial intelligence in some risky categories such as choosing schools, jobs or loan applicants, while banning it…


Apr212021 by TechmanNo Comments

Cameroonian Startup Creates Soil Analysis Kit for Farming Efficiency

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Cameroon's agricultural sector employs the majority of the country's workers, but too many know too little about the soil, resulting in inefficient farming. To help Cameroon's farmers, a computer engineer created an electronic analysis kit to test soil quality and suitability for crops. Moki Edwin Kindzeka has this report by Anne Nzouankeu in Edéa, Cameroon. Camera: Anne Nzouankeu   Produced by: Jason Godman    ...


Apr212021 by DmediaNo Comments

Japanese Government Nears Decision on New COVID Emergency Decree

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The Japanese government may declare a new state of emergency for the cities of Tokyo and Osaka in response to another surge of COVID-19 infections. The Mainichi newspaper reported Wednesday that Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is requesting to impose an emergency decree from April 29 to May 9, which coincides with Japan’s annual “Golden Week” public holiday period.   Tokyo and Osaka, along with several other prefectures, are already under a quasi-state of emergency, with restaurants and bars operating under shortened business hours.  Japan as a whole has been under two separate emergency decrees since the start of the pandemic, the last one having just expired on March 21.  The previous decrees stopped short of imposing a legally binding nationwide lockdown, due to Japan’s post-World War II constitution, which weighs heavily in…


Apr212021 by DmediaNo Comments

A Whale Chorus Reveals How Climate Change May Be Shifting Migration

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Eerie wails, explosive trumpets and ghostly moans. The sounds from the underwater recorders had a story to tell, even without a single intelligible word: the whales had stayed put. The recordings gathered during the 2018-2019 winter in the freezing cold Arctic waters off Canada proved that a population of bowhead whales had skipped their usual migration south. Scientists believe this behavior -- never previously detected -- could be driven by the effects of climate change and be a potential harbinger of shifting dynamics across the region's ecosystem.   Ordinarily, the approximately 20,000 bowheads that make up the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort (BCB) population around Canada have a fairly predictable migration pattern spanning 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles). They spend the winter in part of the Bering Sea, which lies between Russia and Alaska, and head north then east to the Beaufort…


Apr212021 by DmediaNo Comments

Chinese President Xi Jinping to Appear at US-Led Global Climate Summit 

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Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak Thursday at the global summit on climate change organized by U.S. President Joe Biden. Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a written statement Wednesday that President Xi will deliver an “important speech” during the virtual conference.  Xi is among 40 world leaders invited by President Biden to attend the two-day virtual summit, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Russian President Vladimir Putin.  His acceptance comes days after John Kerry, Biden’s special envoy on climate change, held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, in Shanghai.  Xi’s appearance is his first with Biden since the latter took office in January, and comes amid increasing tensions between the two economic superpowers over a host of issues, including Beijing’s tightening control on semi-autonomous Hong Kong and its…


Apr212021 by DmediaNo Comments

EU Targets Cutting Emissions 55% by 2030

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The European Union announced Wednesday a provisional agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the 27-member bloc by 55% by 2030. The 2030 target is part of a larger goal of getting the EU to be carbon-neutral by 2050. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement puts the EU “on a green path for a generation.” “It is our binding pledge to our children and grandchildren,” she added. EU member states must approve the deal before it becomes official. Wednesday’s agreement comes ahead of the start of a two-day virtual summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden for world leaders to discuss ways to combat climate change.  ...


Apr212021 by TechmanNo Comments

US Trying to Insulate Electrical Grid From Cyberattacks  

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With America’s electrical infrastructure getting zapped daily by an unprecedented number of cyberattacks, the federal government is taking action to prevent a potentially crippling hack of the grid.  A 100-day plan was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Energy Department to harden security systems for the country’s electrical infrastructure and increase the ability to detect and neutralize cyber threats.  “The United States faces a well-documented and increasing cyber threat from malicious actors seeking to disrupt the electricity Americans rely on to power our homes and businesses,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. “It’s up to both government and industry to prevent possible harms — that’s why we’re working together to take these decisive measures so Americans can rely on a resilient, secure, and clean energy system.”  The electric industry was among those hit by recent cyberattacks and data breaches targeting Solar Winds and Microsoft Exchange software, but officials stress the timing of Tuesday’s…


Apr212021 by DmediaNo Comments

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Could Jump 5% as Economies Rebound, Energy Agency Says

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Carbon dioxide emissions are expected to grow this year after falling dramatically during the pandemic as economies around the globe contracted.In a report issued Tuesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said emissions of the greenhouse gas would rise by 1.5 billion metric tons, or 5%. While big, the increase is not likely to eclipse the surge seen following the 2008-09 global financial crisis.After a series of stimulus bills, the U.S. economy is expected to grow rapidly in 2021, with growth forecasts at 6% or higher.The group said coal would be the largest driver of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions. It said demand for coal was expected to grow 4.5% this year. That would be higher than 2019, but below a 2014 peak.“This is a dire warning that the economic…