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The UNFPA reported that almost 12 million women in 115 low- and medium-income countries were unable to gain access to contraception services for an average of 3.6 months during the past year due to the pandemic, resulting in 1.4 million unintended pregnancies.“Pregnancies don’t stop for…

The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will approach within about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Thursday.The U.S. space agency said it would allow astronomers to get a…

While NASA’s Mars rover roams the Red Planet searching for signs of ancient life, scientists on Earth follow clues in a Turkish lake that may hold some answers.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Camera: NASA/AP/AFP/REUTERS/SPACEXProduced by: Arash Arabasadi    ...

While NASA’s Mars rover roams the Red Planet searching for signs of ancient life, scientists on Earth follow clues in a Turkish lake that may hold some answers.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Camera: NASA/AP/AFP/REUTERS/SPACEXProduced by: Arash Arabasadi   ...

U.S. President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package into law Thursday, opening the door for the release of federal aid for financially ailing American households and businesses.Biden, a Democrat, signed the package one day after the House of Representatives approved the bill…

The U.S space agency NASA has released audio of Martian winds and the sound of a laser aimed at a rock, all captured by the Perseverance rover as it makes the first use of its sophisticated scientific instruments.The rover's SuperCam, which the Los Alamos National…

Denmark health officials announced Thursday they are suspending the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for 14 days as it investigates reports of patients developing blood clots after being inoculated. On his Twitter account, Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said authorities were looking into "signs…

Four former living U.S. presidents are appearing in a new ad campaign to encourage people to get COVID-19 vaccines.In the video produced by the Ad Council, former President Bill Clinton says, “We’ve lost enough people and we’ve suffered enough damage.”There is a photo of Clinton…

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life harder for everyone, but especially people with disabilities, who feel more marginalized than ever before. People in a disabled community in Nigeria’s capital are coping as best they can, but are still in need of assistance.   Physically challenged…

Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that current vaccination levels indicate the United States could reach pre-pandemic levels of “normal life” by late August or early September.     Fauci made the comment during a virtual news briefing on herd immunity…

The British Natural History Museum said it has recovered fragments of the first meteorite collected in the United Kingdom in 30 years and one of the rarest ever discovered.  On the night of February 28, a fireball was seen streaking across the sky over southwestern…

The U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry said Wednesday the world’s developed countries - which emit most of the world's greenhouse gases - “have every capacity" to address the climate crisis. Speaking at a joint news conference in Paris with French Finance Minister Bruno…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday refuted claims by European Union Council President Charles Michel that Britain had imposed a ban on COVID-19 vaccine exports. In an online blog posted Tuesday to the EU website, Michel wrote that Britain and the United States have imposed…

The first federal recommendations for people vaccinated against COVID-19 allow cautious steps toward normal life.Too cautious, critics say.The In this Jan. 27, 2021, image from video, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks during a White House briefing.Though vaccinated…

Behind the counter of Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, near Philadelphia, owner Mayank Amin has been working late into the night since his independent drugstore received state approval to administer COVID-19 vaccines in late January.   There are thousands of emails to sort through and phone…

With COVID-19 still limiting travel, a Cameroonian startup has created a system that allows African medical patients to have an online consultation with doctors abroad.  Moki Edwin Kindzeka has this report from Anne Nzouankeu in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Camera: Anne Nzouankeu   ...

The World Health Organization reports one in three women globally, around 736 million, suffer physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by a non-partner. The study, the largest ever conducted on the prevalence of violence against women, is based on data…

The United Nations’ weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said Tuesday the record cold felt in the U.S. during February was the result of the same weather phenomena that sent above-average warmth to parts of the arctic.  At a virtual news conference from Geneva…

The first federal recommendations for people vaccinated against COVID-19 allow cautious steps toward normal life.Too cautious, critics say.The In this Jan. 27, 2021, image from video, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks during a White House briefing.Though vaccinated…

U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry was in Brussels Tuesday to discuss transatlantic cooperation with European Union (EU) officials and U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to rejoin the global climate change effort.   Speaking to reporters alongside EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, Kerry reiterated…

Last March, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, it had already proved to be lethal and highly contagious. It was a new virus with many unknowns. Since then, scientists have learned a lot about how it affects vital organs and its long-term effects. VOA's Carol Pearson reports. ...

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes the rapidly spreading variant of the coronavirus recently discovered in Brazil, according to the results of a laboratory study.   Scientists with Pfizer and the University of Texas took blood from people who had been given the vaccine and mixed it with…

Uganda launches its national vaccination program on Wednesday, two days after receiving 100,000 additional doses of Covid-19 vaccine donated by the Indian government.   So far, Uganda has received 964,000 doses of the vaccine through donations.   Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng said healthcare workers…

The U.S. government on Monday sued the automobile device manufacturer EZ Lynk for selling tens of thousands of "defeat devices" that enabled car and truck owners to disable their vehicles' computerized emission controls at the push of a button. In a complaint filed in the federal…

The United States denounced Monday what it called a Russian disinformation campaign against U.S.-made COVID-19 vaccines, saying Moscow was putting lives at risk. The Global Engagement Center, an arm of the State Department whose activities include monitoring foreign propaganda, said that Russian intelligence was behind four online…