Category: News

Ever wonder what it would feel like to unplug from a hyperconnected world and hide away in a dark cave for 40 days? Fifteen people in France did just that, emerging Saturday from a scientific experiment to say that time seemed to pass more slowly in…

China will discuss building a defense system against near-Earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said Saturday, as the country steps up its longer-term space ambitions.Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, did not provide further detail in his opening remarks at a…

Malawi's government says it will go ahead with plans to destroy thousands of expired COVID-19 vaccine doses, despite calls from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centre for Disease Control not to destroy them.The WHO and Africa CDC this week urged African countries not…

Israel’s health ministry said Friday that no COVID deaths were recorded on Thursday. It was the first day in 10 months that the ministry did not register any COVID deaths.The last time no new cases were recorded in the Middle Eastern country was June 29.Israel…

When police respond to a person gripped by a mental health or drug crisis, the encounter can have tragic results. Now a government insurance program will help communities set up an alternative: mobile teams with mental health practitioners trained in de-escalating such potentially volatile situations.…

A recycled SpaceX crew capsule has delivered four astronauts from three countries to the International Space Station.     The SpaceX capsule docked with the orbiting outpost early Saturday, according to the U.S. space agency NASA, after launching Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in…

Israel’s health ministry said Friday that no COVID deaths were recorded on Thursday. It was the first day in 10 months that the ministry did not register any COVID deaths.The last time no new cases were recorded in the Middle Eastern country was June 29.Israel…

Kenyans living with HIV say their lives are in danger due to a shortage of anti-retroviral drugs donated by the United States amid a dispute between the U.S. aid agency and the Kenyan government.The delayed release of the drugs shipped to Kenya late last year…

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday that there are 145.2 million global COVID-19 infections. The U.S. remains at the top of the list as the country with the most infections at almost 32 million. India is second on the list with more…

U.S. President Joe Biden praised world leaders for coming together on climate change and urged them to make good on promises as he closed a virtual climate change summit hosted from the White House.“The commitments we’ve made must become real,” Biden said Friday on the…

Vanuatu, a remote chain of more than 80 islands in the Pacific, is one of the few countries in the world where the coronavirus has not spread. How did they do it?  Ginny Stein has more for VOA from Vanuatu’s capital city, Port Vila. Camera:  Ginny…

U.S. health officials on Friday ended an 11-day pause on COVID-19 vaccinations using Johnson & Johnson's one-dose shot, after scientific advisers decided its benefits outweighed the risk of rare blood clots.The government found 15 vaccine recipients who had developed the clots, out of nearly 8 million people…

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Immunization Committee is meeting Friday to consider lifting a pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.   The pause was widely implemented last week following the discovery of six U.S. cases of a rare and…

The coronavirus has conquered the world's highest mountain.   A Norwegian climber became the first to be tested for COVID-19 in Mount Everest base camp and was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was hospitalized. Erlend Ness told The Associated Press in a message…

In an exclusive interview with VOA, the director of Oxford University’s Jenner Institute says their new malaria vaccine, tested in Burkina Faso, has shown a preliminary efficacy rate of 77%, which could help prevent over 400,000 deaths a year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.…

How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last? Experts don't know yet because they're still studying vaccinated people to see when protection might wear off. How well the vaccines work against emerging variants will also determine if, when and how often additional shots might be…

COVID-19 is surging at an astounding rate in India. The South Asian nation’s health ministry said Friday it had counted a record-breaking 332,730 new infections in the previous 24-hour period. The new tally surpasses Thursday’s record daily toll of 314,835 new infections.At least six hospitals…

Old machines are transformed into new robots in an exhibition that makes viewers think twice about the machines they use. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.  Camera: Roy Kim  Producer: Elizabeth Lee  ...

Since coronavirus pandemic began many Americans have gotten more used to make their own meals at home. But that doesn’t mean people do not want a great restaurant meal from time to time. Karina Bafradzhian reports. Camera: Andrey Degtyarev and Artyom Kokhan ...

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…

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,…

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. ...

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       ...

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…

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…

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…

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…