Lights! Crickets. Birds. Bats. Action! The ancient theater of Epidaurus, renowned for its acoustics, has reopened for a limited number of open-air performances, with organizers planning a live-streamed event Saturday for the first time in the Greek monument’s 2,300-year history.Live concerts and events have been mostly canceled in Greece this …
your ad hereSiberian Heat Wave and Melting Arctic Sea Ice Indicate Climate Change, Scientists Say
Scientists warn record Siberian temperatures and the rapid melting of the Arctic sea ice along the Russian coast indicate that climate change is occurring and may be irreversible. Siberia, famous for its bitterly cold weather, has been experiencing a tropical heat wave, with temperatures reaching a record 38 degrees Celsius June …
your ad hereMore Than 180 Wildfires Burning in Siberia
Wildfires continue to burn in parts of Siberia this summer as a heatwave has continued to spread in areas north of the Arctic Circle.The World Metrological Organization (WMO) has raised the alarm, saying official figures show record warming in the Arctic.”In general, the Arctic is heating more than twice the …
your ad hereRussian Scientists Dig Out Well-Preserved Woolly Mammoth
Russian scientists are digging out fragments of a well-preserved woolly mammoth skeleton found by reindeer herders a few days ago at a lake in northern Siberia.The herders initially found parts of the animal’s skull, lower jaw, several ribs and foot fragments with sinews still intact on the shores of Pechevalavato …
your ad hereTrump Signs Executive Orders to Lower Prescription Drug Prices
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs, as he faces an uphill reelection battle and criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump has previously proposed most of the changes made by the executive orders he signed …
your ad hereHopeful Volunteers Taking Part in Trials of COVID Vaccine
A few weeks ago researchers at Oxford University announced promising results from early trials of their version of a COVID-19 vaccine. In early trial results on just over 1,000 volunteers, the vaccine appeared to be safe and triggered an immune response. VOA spoke with one volunteer who is participated in …
your ad hereBritain PM Calls Anti-Vaccination Activists ‘Nuts’
As he visited a London medical center to promote a flu immunization program Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson referred to opponents of vaccinations as “nuts.” Johnson made the off-hand comment as he chatted with nurses about the importance of a widespread flu vaccination plan as winter approaches. He said …
your ad hereTurkey’s President Prays With Hundreds at Hagia Sophia Mosque
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prayed with hundreds of worshippers Friday inside the Hagia Sophia, the first prayers since the sixth-century Byzantine landmark was redesignated a mosque two weeks ago.The president was joined by other officials, including his son-in-law and finance minister. Only 500 people were allowed inside the mosque …
your ad hereUS Intelligence Official Warns of Foreign Interference in US Elections
The director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center has warned that Russia, China, Iran and other countries are meddling in U.S. political campaigns as the November 3 general election draws closer.“We see our adversaries seeking to compromise the private communications of U.S. political campaigns, candidates and other political …
your ad hereSiberian Heat Wave: Wildfires Rage in Arctic, Sea Ice Melts
The U.N. weather agency warned Friday that average temperatures in Siberia were 10 degrees Celsius (18 Fahrenheit) above average last month, a spate of exceptional heat that has fanned devastating fires in the Arctic Circle and contributed to a rapid depletion in ice sea off Russia’s Arctic coast. “The Arctic is …
your ad hereTaylor Swift Releases ‘Folklore’
Surprise! Taylor Swift’s got an album out.“Folklore” premiered overnight, less than a year after Swift released her “Lover” album. Swift writes on Instagram she wrote and recorded the album in isolation. It features Bon Iver, Aaron Dessner of The National and Jack Antonoff.Swift says before this year, she would have …
your ad hereAfter Britain, Germany Emerges as Next 5G Battleground
Following Britain’s decision to ban Chinese tech firm Huawei from its 5G telecom network, Germany is emerging as the next potential battleground to check China’s expansion of influence in world affairs, which is increasingly seen as a serious challenge to democratic institutions worldwide.Germany’s decision on whether to include Huawei equipment …
your ad hereAdvisers Propose Pentagon Create Service Academy for High Tech
Google’s former CEO is working with a former U.S. Defense Department official to create an online program that would train Americans to code for the government, as first reported by Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, listens during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 28, …
your ad hereSummer’s Space Race to Mars Begins
Three countries launched missions officially kicking off the summer space race to Mars. A satellite snaps pictures of the sun in ways Earth-based cameras can’t. And the comet NASA calls a “natural firework” streaks the skies again. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
your ad hereAmong COVID’s Victims in Spain: Flamenco
Flamenco, the plaintive music of Spain, faces the worst crisis since the Civil War. The thundering stomp of the dancers – called zapateando – has been silenced across the nation, another casualty of the pandemic. Although Spain has been open for tourists since June, only a trickle of foreign visitors have arrived during …
your ad hereChina Launches First Independent Mission to Mars
An unmanned spacecraft blasted off Thursday on a yearlong journey to Mars, beginning one of China’s most ambitious space missions to date.The Tianwen-1 lifted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch site on China’s southern Hainan Island aboard a Long March 5 rocket as hundreds of cheering fans gathered on beaches …
your ad hereSilent Spread of Virus Keeps Scientists Grasping for Clues
One of the great mysteries of the coronavirus is how quickly it rocketed around the world. It first flared in central China and, within three months, was on every continent but Antarctica, shutting down daily life for millions. Behind the rapid spread was something that initially caught scientists off guard, …
your ad hereWoman Artist Breaks Molds in Conservative Northern Nigeria
A visual artist in Nigeria’s conservative northern region is on a mission to challenge some stereotypes about women. These include the notion that certain trades are for men only and that women who venture into them are bound to fail. The 25-year-old artist, Maryam Umar Maigida, told VOA Hausa she …
your ad hereChina Successfully Launches First Independent Mission to Mars
An unmanned spacecraft blasted off Thursday on a yearlong journey to Mars, beginning one of China’s most ambitious space missions to date.The Tianwen-1 lifted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch site on China’s southern Hainan Island aboard a Long March 5 rocket as hundreds of cheering fans gathered on beaches …
your ad hereUS to Provide $5 Billion to Fight Coronavirus in Nation’s Nursing Homes
President Donald Trump has announced the U.S. government will provide an additional $5 billion in aid, equipment and training to the nation’s nursing homes, many of which are hot spots in the coronavirus pandemic.He said COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, poses “the greatest threat to our senior citizens,” …
your ad hereRussian Hackers Allegedly Trying to Steal COVID-19 Vaccine Research
A report by the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre this month accused hackers with links to Russian intelligence of attacking organizations developing a vaccine for COVID-19. The report has raised diplomatic tensions and opened a window into the world of pharmaceutical intelligence. VOA’s Tatiana Vorozhko has the story. …
your ad hereAmber Heard Accuses Depp of Throwing Bottles Like ‘Grenades’
Amber Heard alleged in a British court on Wednesday that her ex-husband Johnny Depp threw “30 or so bottles” at her as if they were “grenades or bombs” while they were in Australia in March 2015 and that he accidentally severed part of his finger during the assault.Taking to the …
your ad hereUS Labs Buckle Amid Testing Surge; World Virus Cases Top 15M
Laboratories across the U.S. are buckling under a surge of coronavirus tests, creating long processing delays that experts say are actually undercutting the pandemic response.With the U.S. tally of infections at 3.9 million Wednesday and new cases surging, the bottlenecks are creating problems for workers kept off the job while …
your ad hereEuropean Telescope Takes First Picture of Another Solar System
The European Southern Observatory on Wednesday released the first image ever captured by a telescope of multiple planets orbiting around a sunlike star.In a statement, the ESO said the image was taken by its Extremely Large Telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert.This image from the European Southern Observatory, July 2020, shows …
your ad hereUS to Pay Nearly $2 Billion for COVID-19 Vaccine Under Development
The U.S. government will pay $1.95 billion to American drug maker Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech SE for 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, if it proves to be safe and effective. The companies said Wednesday they finalized a deal with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services …
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