A powerful new telescope in Australia has mapped vast areas of the universe in record time. The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder was able to chart about 3 million galaxies in just 300 hours – 1 million of which have never been seen before.Galaxies are the building blocks of the …
your ad hereFederal Lawsuit Alleges Facebook Discriminates Against US Workers
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Thursday saying social media giant Facebook was discriminating against U.S. workers and hiring cheaper foreign workers instead.Many of the temporary workers the DOJ accused Facebook of giving hiring preferences to were foreign workers with H-1B visas.H1-B visas allow U.S. companies to …
your ad hereWarner Bros. to Stream All 2021 Movies
In a sign of just how much coronavirus lockdowns have affected the movie industry, Warner Bros. announced Thursday that it would make its entire roster of 2021 movies available for streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. the same day they are released in theaters.After a month on HBO Max, …
your ad hereSweden Closes High Schools Until Early January to Stem COVID-19 Infections
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced Thursday that high schools would switch to distance learning beginning Monday through early January to slow the rate of COVID-19 infections in the country. Lofven made the announcement at a Stockholm news conference alongside Swedish Education Minister Anna Ekstrom. He said he hoped the move …
your ad hereFacebook to Start Removing Bogus Claims About COVID Vaccines
Facebook will begin removing false claims about COVID-19 vaccines from its social media platform, the company said Thursday, as part of an ongoing campaign to combat the spread of misinformation about them.“This is another way that we are applying our policy to remove misinformation about the virus that could lead …
your ad hereWHO Europe Director Applauds Vaccine News, Urges Vigilance
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) European director Thursday called Britain’s approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine “phenomenal” but urged Europeans to remain vigilant. Speaking at his headquarters in Copenhagen, Dr. Hans Kluge said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the vaccines on the verge of approval elsewhere, along with 50 candidate vaccines …
your ad hereFauci to Discuss Coronavirus Pandemic with Biden Transition Team
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is meeting virtually Thursday with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team about the surging coronavirus pandemic in the country and the likely start soon of widespread vaccinations of millions of Americans.Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, was …
your ad hereNigeria’s First Lesbian Film Courts Controversy Ahead of Release
Even in Africa’s most vibrant cinematic market,Ife stands out. The tale of love between two Nigerian women is so controversial the filmmakers scrapped plans to release it locally. VOA‘s Anita Powell has more from Johannesburg.Videographer: Zaheer Cassim, Producer: Zeheer Cassim, Marcus Harton …
your ad hereUnited Nations to Convene Special Session on Pandemic Response
More than 100 world leaders and high-ranking government officials will convene a two-day virtual special session of the United Nations General Assembly Thursday to discuss the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to craft a recovery strategy.Brendan Varma, a spokesman for General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir, said the special …
your ad hereTwitter Prohibits Dehumanizing Posts Targeting Race, Ethnicity
Twitter has enacted stricter content rules, adding to its list of prohibited conduct any language that “dehumanizes people on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.”The social media company announced the update to its policy on Wednesday.Twitter said it would remove any offending posts that users report and would …
your ad hereNIH Director: ‘It Is Astounding What’s Been Done’ Regarding COVID-19 Vaccine
VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren interviewed the National Institute of Health Director Frances Collins. Among the issues discussed are the COVID-19 vaccine and its development.Here is a transcript of that interview:Greta Van Susteren: Nice to talk to you, sir.Francis Collins: Nice to talk to you, Greta.Van Susteren: Well, we Americans …
your ad hereFilm Documents Lives of Girls, Women on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota
Poverty, drugs, alcohol, frequent disappearances of young women and the absence of law enforcement are all issues plaguing the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation in South Dakota. But women there are trying to make the future better and brighter as they work to create “a girl society” that is aimed …
your ad hereRafer Johnson, 1960 Olympic Decathlon Champion, Dies at 86
Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. He was 86.He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. No cause of death was announced.Johnson was …
your ad hereCDC Warns of ‘Most Difficult Time’ for US Public Health
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned Wednesday of a bleak winter ahead as the country continues to see nationwide surges of COVID-19 cases.”The reality is that December, January and February are going to be rough times,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a livestream presentation hosted …
your ad hereNASA: Mystery Object Is 54-Year-Old Rocket, Not Asteroid
A mysterious object temporarily orbiting Earth is a 54-year-old rocket, not an asteroid after all, astronomers confirmed Wednesday.Observations by a telescope in Hawaii clinched its identity, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.The object was classified as an asteroid after its discovery in September. But NASA’s top asteroid …
your ad hereThe Lakota Daughters
Poverty, drugs, alcohol, frequent disappearances of young women and the absence of law enforcement are all issues plaguing the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation in South Dakota. But women there are trying to make the future better and brighter as they work to create “a girl society” that is aimed …
your ad hereBritain Approves Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine, Raising Hopes of Return to Normality
Britain has approved the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer – and plans to begin inoculations in the coming days. As Henry Ridgwell reports, it represents a significant milestone in the battle against the pandemic – but challenges remain.Camera: Henry Ridgwell Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov …
your ad herePeople Magazine Reveals Its ‘2020 People of the Year’
People magazine has named George Clooney, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Selena Gomez and Regina King as the “2020 People of the Year.” The magazine revealed its list Wednesday morning as part of a year-end double issue with four covers. The four will be celebrated for their positive impact in the world …
your ad hereChina Joins Race to Mine Moon for Resources
China’s space program celebrated a major accomplishment this week when its Chang’e 5 lunar probe mission safely landed on the moon. The landing Tuesday brought Beijing a step closer to becoming the third country in the world to retrieve geological samples from the moon, but more important, analysts say, is …
your ad hereUS Shortens COVID-19 Quarantine to 10 Days
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that Americans potentially exposed to COVID-19 could quarantine for 10 days, shortening the previous recommendation of 14 days. The CDC also said that a seven-day quarantine was acceptable with a negative test result, but cautioned that everyone should monitor themselves for …
your ad hereEuropean Space Agency Signs Deal to Remove Debris from Orbit
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a $102 million contract with a Swiss start-up company to purchase a unique service: the first-ever removal of an item of space debris from orbit. The company, ClearSpace SA, will capture part of a used rocket using what is described as a …
your ad hereMass COVID-19 Immunization Plans Raise Huge Challenges
Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, has likened the scientists who have developed coronavirus vaccines to the cavalry arriving just in the nick of time. “The toot of the bugle is louder,” he reassured Britons during a recent news conference. But like his European counterparts, Johnson’s government is scrambling to come up with a vaccine distribution plan and is having to …
your ad hereSingapore OKs Lab-grown Chicken
It might look like chicken. It might taste like chicken. But it doesn’t come from a chicken, it comes from a lab. For chicken lovers in Singapore, this lab-grown chicken will soon be available in nugget form as the country has given the OK for San Francisco-based startup Eat Just to …
your ad hereChina Spacecraft Collects Moon Samples to Take Back to Earth
A Chinese spacecraft took samples of the moon’s surface Wednesday as part of a mission to bring lunar rocks back to Earth for the first time since the 1970s, the government said, adding to a string of successes for Beijing’s increasingly ambitious space program. The Chang’e 5 probe touched down …
your ad hereHuge Puerto Rico Radio Telescope, Already Damaged, Collapses
A huge, already damaged radio telescope in Puerto Rico that has played a key role in astronomical discoveries for more than half a century completely collapsed on Tuesday. The telescope’s 900-ton receiver platform and its Gregorian dome — a structure as tall as a four-story building that houses secondary reflectors — …
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