Category: News

Astronomers have observed the brightest flash of light ever seen, from an event that occurred 2.4 billion light-years from Earth and was likely triggered by the formation of a black hole.  The burst of gamma rays — the most intense form of electromagnetic radiation —…

Young researchers and students are competing in a disaster challenge at a natural hazards forum in the Australian city of Brisbane. The government-funded organization Natural Hazards Research Australia has said more Australians "than ever before are exposed to the damage and destruction of floods, bushfires,…

Europe faces a higher-than-usual chance of a cold blast of weather before the end of the year, but the winter overall is likely to be warmer than average, the continent's long-range weather forecaster said Thursday. Temperatures this winter will be crucial for homeowners worried about…

The Antarctic ozone hole last week peaked at a moderately large size for the third straight year — bigger than North America — but experts say it's still generally shrinking despite recent blips because of high altitude cold weather. The ozone hole hit its peak…

Still, just 6.9% of those eligible have gotten the omicron-tailored vaccine ...

A monkeypox outbreak has been confirmed in the town of Mbonge, health authorities in Cameroon say, but armed separatists are preventing workers from investigating suspected cases. Cameroon government officials say health workers have been deployed to the districts of Kumba and Mbonge to communicate to…

As Australia prepares to end mandatory coronavirus isolation rules Friday, new research shows that almost a third of adults have had symptoms of long COVID. In Canberra, a parliamentary health committee has heard clinics are being contacted by more patients struggling with ongoing ailments. COVID-19…

Taiwan lifted all its COVID-19 entry restrictions Thursday, allowing tourists unfettered access to the self-ruled island after more than 2 1/2 years of border controls. Hong Kong and Taiwan, together with mainland China, required most visitors to complete a mandatory quarantine period throughout the pandemic,…

Early in World War II, the U.S. Navy battled Nazi U-boats off the East Coast of the United States in an area that came to be known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” For VOA, Genia Dulot takes us on an underwater tour of some…

Case numbers in the global monkeypox outbreak have now topped 70,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday as it warned that a decline in new cases did not mean people should drop their guard.  The WHO said that case numbers last week were on…

Uganda and the World Health Organization are planning to try out two vaccines for the Ebola Sudan virus to try and curb the spread of the rare strain.  The virus has so far killed 19 people and infected at least 54 people in five districts…

The U.S. on Wednesday authorized updated COVID-19 boosters for children as young as 5, seeking to expand protection ahead of an expected winter wave. Tweaked boosters rolled out for Americans 12 and older last month, doses modified to target today's most common and contagious omicron…

Scientists have transplanted human brain cells into the brains of baby rats, where the cells grew and formed connections. It's part of an effort to better study human brain development and diseases affecting this most complex of organs, which makes us who we are but…

The world's first space tourist wants to go back — only this time, he’s signed up for a spin around the moon aboard Elon Musk’s Starship. For Dennis Tito, 82, it’s a chance to relive the joy of his trip to the International Space Station,…

The White House on Tuesday said eligible Americans should get the updated COVID-19 boosters by Halloween to have maximum protection against the coronavirus by Thanksgiving and the holidays, as it warned of a "challenging" virus season ahead. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 coordinator,…

A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test. The space agency attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if…

Energy infrastructure will become more vulnerable to extreme weather such as heatwaves and hurricanes, the World Meteorological Organization warned on Tuesday, with a senior official saying that climate change poses as big a threat to global energy security as the war in Ukraine. This year…

Malawi's health ministry says it will soon roll out Africa's first malaria vaccine for children under age five. The RTS,S vaccine, which was tested in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, took more than 30 years to develop. While the vaccine has a relatively low level of…

As awareness grows around the world about the problem of food waste, one culprit in particular is drawing scrutiny: "best before" labels. Manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness. Unlike "use by" labels, which are found on perishable foods like meat…

Monday is World Mental Health Day. To mark the day, the World Health Organization has launched a campaign to “raise awareness and spur action” in regions where there are high rates of death by suicide. The world health body said that the pandemic has created…

Older people with limited mobility and those with chronic health conditions requiring the use of electrically powered medical devices were especially vulnerable when Hurricane Ian slammed into Southwest Florida, and experts warn such risks to society's oldest are growing as disasters increase with the impact…

The city of Philadelphia issued an apology Thursday for the unethical medical experiments performed on mostly Black inmates at its Holmesburg Prison from the 1950s through the 1970s. The move comes after community activists and families of some of those inmates raised the need for…

China’s annual Golden Week festivities wind down Friday under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic with sharply reduced travel, frequent COVID testing and tight security in the capital ahead of this month’s 20th Communist Party Congress. As in the past two years, authorities have sought…