In Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, a hidden underground world is under threat by the Maya Train
AKTUN TUYUL CAVE SYSTEM, Mexico — Rays of sunlight slice through pools of crystal water as clusters of fish cast shadows on the limestone below. Arching over the emerald basin are walls of stalactites dripping down the cavern ceiling, which opens to a dense jungle. These…
South Africa’s first retrofitted electric minibus taxi exceeds expectations
Minibus taxis are everywhere in South Africa, and all of them run on gasoline. But engineers at one university are hoping to change that as they are getting better-than-expected results from their all-electric minibus taxi. Vicky Stark has the story from Cape Town, South Africa.…
Next Boeing CEO should understand past mistakes, airlines boss says
DUBAI — The next CEO of Boeing BA.N should have an understanding of what led to its current crisis and be prepared to look outside for examples of best industrial practices, the head of the International Air Transport Association said on Sunday. U.S. planemaker Boeing is…
Extreme heat: Climate change’s silent killer
Geneva — Nearly 62,000 people died from heat-related stress in the summer of 2022 in Europe alone, and, according to a study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, “With further global warming, we can expect an increase in the intensity, frequency, and duration…
Boeing’s first astronaut flight called off at the last minute in latest setback
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Last-minute computer trouble nixed Saturday's launch attempt for Boeing's first astronaut flight, the latest in a string of delays over the years. Two NASA astronauts were strapped in the company's Starliner capsule when the countdown automatically was halted at 3 minutes and…
China probe successfully lands on far side of moon
Beijing — China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe successfully landed on the far side of the moon to collect samples, state news agency Xinhua reported Sunday, the latest leap for Beijing's decades-old space program. The Chang'e-6 set down in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest…
WHO extends talks to reach pandemic accord
Geneva, Switzerland — The World Health Organization annual assembly on Saturday gave member countries another year to agree on a landmark accord to combat future pandemics. Three years of effort to reach a deal ended last month in failure. But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed…
Panama prepares to evacuate first island in face of rising sea levels
GARDI SUGDUB, Panama — On a tiny island off Panama’s Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to the sea and tourism will trade…
Uganda tackles yellow fever with new travel requirement, vaccination campaign
KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda has rolled out a nationwide yellow fever vaccination campaign to help safeguard its population against the mosquito-borne disease that has long posed a threat. By the end of April, Ugandan authorities had vaccinated 12.2 million of the 14 million people targeted, said…
Australian researchers find simple, cost-effective desalination method
SYDNEY — Australian researchers say a simpler and cheaper method to remove salt from seawater using heat could help combat what they call “unprecedented global water shortages." The desalination of seawater is a process where salt and impurities are removed to produce drinking water. Most of…
Trillions of cicadas pop up in parts of US
It’s an emergence that’s been more than a decade in the making. Trillions of cicadas that have burrowed underground for 13 or 17 years are now emerging in parts of the Midwestern and Southern United States. And, VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, they are ready to…
Pakistan launches communication satellite with Chinese assistance
Washington — Pakistan's space agency on Thursday launched its second satellite in a month from a launch site in China's northwest Sichuan province. According to Pakistan’s Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), PakSAT-MM1 is a high-power multimission satellite designed to provide a range of communication…
Lava spurts from Iceland volcano for second day
GRINDAVIK, Iceland — Lava continued to spurt from a volcano in southwestern Iceland on Thursday but the activity had calmed significantly from when it erupted a day earlier. The eruption Wednesday was the fifth and most powerful since the volcanic system near Grindavik reawakened in December…
Health advocates push for reforms to combat Indonesia’s high male smoking rates
May 31 is World No Tobacco Day, a day when many health advocacy groups raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco. These groups have reason to celebrate: In most countries, tobacco use is declining. But not in Indonesia, where smoking rates are rising, according to…
US optimistic a deal to lessen threats of future pandemics is in sight
Geneva — Despite the failure of negotiators to reach a pandemic accord ahead of this week’s World Health Assembly, a senior U.S. official remains optimistic that an agreement to lessen the threats of global killer disease outbreaks is in sight. “We think the elements of a…
‘Open source’ investigators use satellites to identify burned Darfur villages
Investigators using satellite imagery to document the war in western Sudan's Darfur region say 72 villages were burned down in April, the most they have seen since the conflict began. Henry Wilkins talks with the people who do this research about how so-called open-source investigations…
Robot will try to remove nuclear debris from Japan’s destroyed reactor
TOKYO — The operator of Japan's destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant demonstrated Tuesday how a remote-controlled robot would retrieve tiny bits of melted fuel debris from one of three damaged reactors later this year for the first time since the 2011 meltdown. Tokyo Electric Power…