A Polish law limiting abortion to cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s health or life is at risk was expected to go into effect Wednesday following an October court decision deeming abortions due to fetal defects illegal. The court’s decision set off protests across the mostly Roman Catholic country. More …
your ad hereNASA Astronauts Conduct Space Walk Outside Space Station
Two NASA astronauts conducted a spacewalk Wednesday outside the International Space Station (ISS) to complete an antenna assembly and communications terminal. Flight Engineers Astronaut Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover are conducting the space walks, which will complete upgrades to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Columbus Module, among other tasks. …
your ad herePresidential Pet Tradition Returns to White House
With Joe Biden as president, pets are back in the White House after a break in the longtime tradition during his predecessor’s time in office. Elena Wolf has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.Camera: Natalia Latukhina, Dmitrii VershininMasha Morton contributed. …
your ad hereAuschwitz Survivors Mark Anniversary Online Amid Pandemic
Tova Friedman hid among corpses at Auschwitz amid the chaos of the extermination camp’s final days. Just 6 years old at the time, the Poland-born Friedman was instructed by her mother to lie absolutely still in a bed at a camp hospital, next to the body of a young woman …
your ad hereMoscow Relaxes COVID-19 Restrictions
Authorities in Moscow have lifted some coronavirus restrictions, including the overnight closure of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, citing the improving health situation. Starting on Wednesday, businesses no longer are required to have at least 30 percent of employees working remotely, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his blog, saying the “situation …
your ad hereWorld Surpasses 100 Million Coronavirus Cases
As countries deal with coronavirus vaccine access, supply and distribution difficulties, the world surpassed 100 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 with more than 2.1 million deaths. It took about 11 months for worldwide infections to reach 50 million, and three more months to hit 100 million. Five nations have suffered more than …
your ad hereSouth Africa’s President Accuses Rich Nations of Hoarding Vaccines
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is calling on wealthy countries to, in his words, stop hoarding coronavirus vaccines so that poorer countries can have access to them. Ramaphosa spoke at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum Tuesday, as VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …
your ad hereBiden to Target Climate Change
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to sign a series of actions Wednesday to combat climate change. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday that Biden believes climate change is one of the top crises to address during his time in office. Biden has appointed former Secretary of State John Kerry to serve …
your ad hereOn the Brink of Extinction, the Northern White Rhino Now Has a Chance at Survival
The northern white rhino is on the brink of extinction. Poachers decimated the population, but now science has a chance to bring it back. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports.Camera: Reuters Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
your ad hereWith Biden at Helm, Pets Return to White House
With Joe Biden as president, pets are back in the White House after a break in the longtime tradition during his predecessor’s time in office. Elena Wolf has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.Camera: Natalia Latukhina, Dmitrii VershininMasha Morton contributed. …
your ad hereWHO Chief Presses Case Against COVID-19 ‘Vaccine Nationalism’
The World Health Organization director-general on Tuesday continued to press his case against what he calls “vaccine nationalism,” saying poor countries have had to “watch and wait,” while wealthy nations forge ahead with vaccination programs.In his closing remarks to the 10-day WHO executive board meeting in Geneva, agency chief Tedros …
your ad hereData Inconclusive on Efficacy of Moderna Vaccine Against COVID-19 Variants
World Health Organization experts say more clinical evidence is needed to know whether the Moderna vaccine protects against COVID-19 variants. The conclusion came as WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, known as SAGE, issued interim recommendations for use of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19. Health officials …
your ad hereInternet Outages, Slowdowns Reported from Boston to Washington
People from Boston to the Washington area were reporting internet outages or slow service Tuesday. According to Downdetector.com, which tracks outages, users reported problems with Verizon, Google, Zoom, YouTube, Slack and Amazon Web Services. Many of those services have become staples for millions of Americans working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. …
your ad hereEU Leader Urges US to Join Digital ‘Rule Book”’
The European Union (EU) Tuesday called upon the United States to join the alliance in creating a common rule book to rein in the power of internet companies like Facebook and Twitter to combat the spread of fake news as well as protect data. In a wide-ranging virtual speech to …
your ad hereArgentina Set to Receive More Russian COVID-19 Vaccine
Argentina is set to receive another batch of a Russian vaccine against COVID-19 on Tuesday, just days after Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became the country’s latest leader vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine. The vice president was given the shot three days after President Alberto Fernández was …
your ad hereSouth African President Urges Wealthy Nations Not to Hoard COVID-19 Vaccines
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday wealthy countries should not hold onto excess stockpiles of COVID-19 vaccines, and that the world needs to work together to fight the pandemic. FILE – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visits the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment facilities in Johannesburg, April 24, 2020.Ramaphosa told a …
your ad hereNASA Astronauts Move to Repair, Upgrade Space Station Module
Two NASA astronauts are set to embark on two spacewalks in a week’s time outside the International Space Station. The first of the two spacewalks will be Wednesday and will focus on completing the installation of the Bartolomeo science payloads platform outside the European Space Agency’s Columbus module, according to a NASA media advisory. The tasks will include the replacement of a nickel-hydrogen battery with …
your ad hereTwitter to Crowdsource Content Policing
Twitter on Monday unveiled a new tool it is piloting to combat misinformation. Called Birdwatch, the crowdsourcing tool aims to enlist other Twitter users to vet tweets they think contain misinformation.Instead of deleting an offending tweet or having Twitter attach a warning label, users will be able to add annotations to the …
your ad hereKerry Says US ‘Proud to be Back’ in Paris Climate Agreement
World leaders gathered virtually Monday for the Climate Adaption Summit, an online meeting hosted by the Netherlands with hopes of developing practical solutions and funding for dealing with climate change between now and 2030.The online program featured leaders from around the world, including China’s Deputy Prime Minister Han Zheng, German …
your ad hereMalawi Recruits Healthcare Workers to Combat Surge in COVID-19
Malawi says it is recruiting hundreds of healthcare workers to address a shortage as the country deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Healthcare workers welcome the move but say the government needs to do more than just hire more nurses.Government statistics show that about 900 Malawian health workers are …
your ad hereIsrael to Shut Down International Airport to Keep out Coronavirus Variants
Israel says it plans to shut down its international airport by the end of the week to keep out highly contagious coronavirus variants. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, “We are closing the skies hermetically, except for really rare exceptions, to prevent the entry of virus mutations, and also to …
your ad hereBuccaneers, Chiefs to Face Off in Super Bowl
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs have advanced to face off in the National Football League’s Super Bowl. The game, which is one of the most-watched television programs in the United States each year, will take place February 7 in front of a restricted crowd of about 22,000 people …
your ad hereUS to Track COVID-19 Variants, Study Whether Vaccines Remain Effective
The U.S. is increasing efforts to track the several coronavirus variants emerging as the virus continues to spread throughout the world, a health official said Sunday. The plan is to monitor “the impact of these variants on vaccines, as well as on our therapeutics,” as the virus continues to mutate while it spreads, said Dr. …
your ad hereBolivian Couple Works to Save Honeybees’ Shrinking Habitats
Honeybees in Bolivia’s mountains are in trouble. Their natural habitat is disappearing, being replaced by an environment they cannot call home. One couple in one of the country’s forest regions is fighting to save them. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports. …
your ad hereVirus Surge Hits Mental Health of Front-Line Workers
The unrelenting increase in COVID-19 infections in Spain following the holiday season is again straining hospitals, threatening the mental health of doctors and nurses who have been at the forefront of the pandemic for nearly a year.In Barcelona’s Hospital del Mar, the critical care capacity has more than doubled and …
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