Methane-measuring satellite could help slow global warming

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Methane leaking from fossil fuel production is among the top contributors to climate change. Now a leading environmental scientist is hoping to provide more accurate and consistent findings of methane emissions with the launch of a technologically advanced satellite. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. Arash Arabasadi contributed to this report. Camera: Adam Greenbaum ...


Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launch malaria vaccination programs

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COTONOU, Benin — Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launched large-scale malaria vaccine programs on Thursday under an Africa-focused initiative that hopes to save tens of thousands of children's lives per year across Africa. The three West African countries are the latest to participate after successful rollouts of routine malaria immunization for children in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the global vaccine alliance GAVI said in a statement. The World Health Organization-approved vaccine is meant to work alongside existing tools such as bed nets to combat malaria, which in Africa kills nearly half a million children under the age of 5 each year. "This introduction ... will help save lives and offer relief to families, communities and hard-pressed health systems," said Aurelia Nguyen, GAVI chief program officer. Benin has 215,900…


Biden grants $6 billion to Micron to boost chip production

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden was in Syracuse, New York, Thursday to tout a deal to provide memory chip maker Micron Technology with $6.1 billion in federal grants to support the firm in building factories in the states of New York and Idaho. “We're bringing advanced chip manufacturing back to America after 40 years,” Biden said Thursday. He said the funding, paired with a $125 billion investment from Micron, represents the “single biggest private investment ever in history of these two states.” The investment will support the construction of two plants in Clay, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, and one in Boise, Idaho. The grant will unleash “$50 billion in private investment by 2030 as the first step towards Micron’s investment of up to $125 billion across both states…


Malaria remains public health challenge in Kenya, but progress may be coming 

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MIGORI, Kenya — As the coffin bearing the body of Rosebella Awuor was lowered into the grave, heart-wrenching sobs from mourners filled the air. Her sister Winnie Akinyi, the guardian to Awuor's orphaned son, fell to the ground, wailing.  It was the latest of five deaths in this family attributed to malaria. The disease is common in Kenya, and it is preventable and curable, but poverty makes it deadly for those who can't afford treatment.  In the family's compound in the western county of Migori, three other graves are visible, that of Awuor's husband and their other two children who died from malaria before age 2.  Awuor, 31, fell ill in December and lost her five-month pregnancy before succumbing to malaria. Her 11-year-old son is the family's only survivor.  Malaria is…


‘Extreme’ climate blamed for world’s worst wine harvest in 62 years

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Paris, France — World wine production dropped 10 percent last year, the biggest fall in more than six decades, because of "extreme" climate changes, the body that monitors the trade said Thursday.   "Extreme environmental conditions" including droughts, fires and other problems with climate were mostly to blame for the drastic fall, said the International Organization of Vine and Wine, or OIV, that covers nearly 50 wine-producing countries.   Australia and Italy suffered the worst, with 26 and 23 percent drops. Spain lost more than a fifth of its production. Harvests in Chile and South Africa were down by more than 10 percent.  The OIV said the global grape harvest was the worst since 1961, and worse even than its early estimates in November.  In further bad news for winemakers, customers drank 3…


US communications regulator restores net neutrality annulled under Trump

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washington — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules and reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet rescinded under former President Donald Trump.  The commission voted along party lines to finalize a proposal first advanced in October to reinstate open internet rules adopted in 2015 and re-establish the commission's broadband authority.  FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency "believes every consumer deserves internet access that is fast, open, and fair."  "The last FCC threw this authority away and decided broadband needed no supervision," she said.  Net neutrality refers to the principle that internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.  The FCC said it was also using its…


Pakistan’s Malaria Surge Linked to Climate Change

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April 25 marks the global observance of World Malaria Day. Pakistan saw the world’s largest increase in malaria cases in 2022 following that year’s catastrophic flooding, according to the latest World Health Organization data. Experts say climate change was a factor. VOA's Nazr Ul Islam's visited a hospital in Islamabad and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: Nazr Ul Islam ...


Russia blocks UN resolution on peaceful use of outer space

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new york — Russia blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday reaffirming the need to prevent a nuclear arms race in outer space. The measure was proposed jointly by the United States, a nuclear power, and Japan, the only nation ever to be attacked with nuclear bombs. “We have only begun to understand the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space,” said U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “How it could destroy thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world — and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial and national security services we all depend on.” The failed text recalled the responsibility of states to comply with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which is the basic framework on international space law. It says outer space is…


Japan’s moon lander still going after 3 lunar nights

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TOKYO — Japan’s first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan’s space agency said Wednesday after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the lunar probe responded to a signal from the earth Tuesday night, confirming it has survived another weekslong lunar night. Temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius during a lunar night and rise to around 100 Celsius during a lunar day.  The probe, Smart Lander for Investing Moon, or SLIM, reached the lunar surface on Jan. 20, making Japan the fifth country to successfully place a probe on the moon.  SLIM landed the wrong way up with its solar panels initially unable to see the sun, and had to be turned…


‘Green’ Energy Observer vessel docked in NYC for Earth Day

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Before the creation of engines, the ocean was full of low-emission vessels — they were called sailboats. Now a next-generation zero-emissions laboratory vessel called the Energy Observer recently docked in New York City to show off what this team hopes is the next generation of earth-friendly boats. Elena Wolf has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Videographer: Max Avloshenko  ...


EU may suspend TikTok’s new rewards app over risks to kids

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LONDON — The European Union on Monday demanded TikTok provide more information about a new app that pays users to watch videos and warned that it could order the video sharing platform to suspend addictive features that pose a risk to kids.  The 27-nation EU's executive commission said it was opening formal proceedings to determine whether TikTok Lite breached the bloc's new digital rules when the app was rolled out in France and Spain.  Brussels was ratcheting up the pressure on TikTok after the company failed to respond to a request last week for information on whether the new app complies with the Digital Services Act, a sweeping law that took effect last year intending to clean up social media platforms.  TikTok Lite is a slimmed-down version of the main TikTok…


Connected Africa Summit addressing continent’s challenges, opportunities and bridging digital divides

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Nairobi, Kenya — Government representatives from Africa, along with ICT (information and communication technology) officials, and international organizations have gathered in Nairobi for a Connected Africa Summit. They are discussing the future of technology, unlocking the continent's growth beyond connectivity, and addressing the challenges and opportunities in the continent's information and technology sector. Speaking at the Connected Africa Summit opening in Nairobi Monday, Kenyan President William Ruto said bridging the technology gap is important for Africa's economic growth and innovation.   "Closing the digital divide is a priority in terms of enhancing connectivity, expanding the contribution of the ICT sector to Africa's GDP and driving overall GDP growth across all sectors. Africa's digital economy has immense potential…," Ruto said. "Our youth population, the youngest globally, is motivated and prepared to drive…


European Space Agency adds new astronauts in only fourth class since 1978

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cologne, germany — For the past year, five fit, academically superior men and women have been spun in centrifuges, submerged for hours, deprived temporarily of oxygen, taught to camp in the snow, and schooled in physiology, anatomy, astronomy, meteorology, robotics, and Russian. On Monday, the five Europeans and an Australian graduated from basic training with a new title: astronaut. At a ceremony in Cologne, Germany, ESA added the five newcomers to its astronaut corps eligible for missions to the International Space Station, bringing the total to 11. ESA has negotiated with NASA for three places on future Artemis moon missions, although those places will likely go to the more senior astronauts, according to ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. The agency is also supplying the service module for the Orion crew capsule.…


Doctors display ‘PillBot’ that can explore inner human body

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vancouver, british columbia — A new, digestible mini-robotic camera, about the size of a multivitamin pill, was demonstrated at the annual TED Conference in Vancouver. The remote-controlled device can eliminate invasive medical procedures. With current technology, exploration of the digestive tract involves going through the highly invasive procedure of an endoscopy, in which a camera at the end of a cord is inserted down the throat and into a medicated patient’s stomach. But the robotic pill, developed by Endiatx in Hayward, California, is designed to be the first motorized replacement of the procedure. A patient fasts for a day, then swallows the PillBot with lots of water. The PillBot, acting like a miniature submarine, is piloted in the body by a wireless remote control. After the exam, it then flushes out…


Ancient snake might have been 15 meters long, weighed 1,000 kilos

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WASHINGTON — A ancient giant snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a ton, researchers reported Thursday. Fossils found near a coal mine revealed a snake that stretched an estimated 11 meters to 15 meters. It's comparable to the largest known snake at about 13 meters that once lived in what is now Colombia. The largest living snake today is Asia's reticulated python at 10 meters. The newly discovered behemoth lived 47 million years ago in western India's swampy evergreen forests. It could have weighed up to 1,000 kilograms, researchers said in the journal Scientific Reports. They gave it the name Vasuki indicus after "the mythical snake king Vasuki, who wraps around the neck of the Hindu deity Shiva," said Debajit Datta, a study co-author…


Apple pulls WhatsApp and Threads from App Store on Beijing’s orders

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HONG KONG — Apple said it had removed Meta's WhatsApp messaging app and its Threads social media app from the App Store in China to comply with orders from Chinese authorities. The apps were removed from the store Friday after Chinese officials cited unspecified national security concerns. Their removal comes amid elevated tensions between the U.S. and China over trade, technology and national security. The U.S. has threatened to ban TikTok over national security concerns. But while TikTok, owned by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, is used by millions in the U.S., apps like WhatsApp and Threads are not commonly used in China. Instead, the messaging app WeChat, owned by Chinese company Tencent, reigns supreme. Other Meta apps, including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger remained available for download, although use of such foreign…


Australian researchers develop prototype device to devour carbon dioxide to make electricity

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Sydney — Australian researchers have built an electrical generator that consumes carbon dioxide, generates electricity and admits no exhausts.  They say the technology could create a new industrial-scale carbon capture method.   Scientists say too much carbon dioxide, or CO2, in the atmosphere is main driver of warming temperatures.   Researchers at the University of Queensland have created a generator that consumes carbon dioxide and produces electricity. The carbon-negative “nano-generator” has been built by the university’s Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation. The prototype device uses what is known as a poly amine gel to absorb carbon dioxide to create an electrical current.   The design team acknowledges the technology needs further development and refinement but believes it could help to significantly curb global CO2 emissions. Zhuyuan Wang from the University of Queensland told…