For a brief time before Beijing banned the audio chat app Clubhouse, tech-savvy Chinese joined global discussions on taboo topics — Beijing’s placement of Uighurs in concentration camps in Xinjiang, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests — absorbing perspectives and information far outside the lines drawn …
your ad hereCOVID-19 Shaves 1 Year off US Life Expectancy
The COVID-19 pandemic has erased more than a decade of improvements in life expectancy in the United States and widened racial and ethnic inequalities, Chart shows the change in estimated life expectancy in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020The new CDC data put the United States in line with estimates from …
your ad herePerseverance Probe Successfully Lands on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance probe landed safely and on time on Mars, at 3:55 p.m. EST, Thursday, marking another success for the U.S. space agency.The nuclear-powered probe made its way through a harrowing landing process, deemed by some engineers as “seven minutes of terror” because it involves parachutes, powered descent and a …
your ad hereNASA Rover’s Mission and Tricky Landing
NASA and the United States have successfully landed the Perseverance on Mars after the rover left the company of spacecrafts from the UAE and China in orbit. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, challenges for the rover – and potentially a treasure trove of discoveries – await.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
your ad hereFacebook Dubbed ‘Bully’ as Backlash Grows over Dispute with Australia
An international backlash was growing Thursday to Facebook blocking users of its platform in Australia from viewing or sharing links to domestic and international news stories, with the social media giant accused of behaving like a “bully.” Facebook’s move to block the content ahead of Australian lawmakers approving a new …
your ad hereMuch of US Facing Frigid, Stormy Weather
Millions of people in the United States are facing frigid, stormy weather, although the number of people without power in the southwestern state of Texas dropped below a half million on Thursday for the first time in four days. Electricity in Texas, the country’s second-biggest state, was restored to about …
your ad hereFallout Mounts From Canada Canceling Alaska Cruise Season Due to Pandemic
Canada’s cancellation of the 2021 Alaska cruise ship season due to the coronavirus pandemic has angered the U.S. state’s politicians and rattled the tourism industry in both countries. Those on the ground in both Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia are dealing with the fallout.Citing continuing concerns over …
your ad hereWHO Launches 2021 Strategic Plan to Fight Pandemic
The World Health Organization (WHO) Thursday launched its 2021 COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) designed to help all nations fight the pandemic and is seeking nearly $2 billion in donations to fund it.This is the second such initiative, coming just over a year after the first one was …
your ad hereAnxiety Lurks Behind Coronavirus Pandemic for Many Under 30
Pushed to the back of Gen Z anxieties by the COVID-19 pandemic, a looming stressor for many people younger than 30 remains climate change, say experts. “Natural disasters precipitated by climate change, including hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, and floods can lead to … increased rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, …
your ad hereFacebook Bans Australian Users From Sharing News in Dispute Over New Law
Facebook is blocking Australian users from sharing or viewing news content amid a dispute over a proposed law. Australia wants tech giants like Facebook and Google to pay for the content reposted from news outlets.“A bombshell decision” is how Facebook’s move is being reported in Australia. The social media giant …
your ad hereFormer Athlete Replaces Tokyo Olympics Chief
Former Japanese athlete Seiko Hashimoto has become the new president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee after Yoshiro Mori resigned following sexist remarks about women. Hashimoto, a 56-year-old lawmaker in Japan’s ruling party, participated in seven Summer and Winter Olympics as a skater and a cyclist. …
your ad hereExplainer: What’s Up Between Google, Facebook and Australia?
For two decades, global news outlets have complained internet companies are getting rich at their expense, selling advertising linked to their reports without sharing revenue. Now, Australia is joining France and other governments in pushing Google, Facebook and other internet giants to pay. That might channel more money to a …
your ad hereStudy Reveals Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Less Effective Against South African Variant
A new study shows the new Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the South African variant of the virus, although it generates a slightly lower immune response. In a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers with Pfizer and the University of Texas Medical Branch created …
your ad hereFacebook Blocks Australians from Viewing, Sharing News Content
Facebook has blocked Australian account holders from viewing or sharing all news content over a dispute with a government proposal to make digital giants pay domestic news outlets for their content.Thursday’s move by the U.S.-based social media company was made despite ongoing negotiations between Facebook and rival Google with Australian …
your ad herePerseverance Probe Set for Thursday Landing on Mars
The latest NASA probe to Mars is set to land Thursday after a journey that began last July.Perseverance’s entry into the Martian atmosphere was set to start at 3:55 p.m. EST, starting a seven-minute process that scientists hope will be successful. During the landing, NASA has no ability to control …
your ad hereFirst Federally Supported Mass Vaccination Sites Open in US Cities
President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged to improve the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. This week, the first federally supported mass vaccination sites opened in California. Matt Dibble reports. Camera: Matt Dibble Producer: Matt Dibble …
your ad hereChristo’s Personal Collection Sells for Nearly $10 Million
Artworks owned by the late artist Christo and his wife, Jean-Claude, a duo famed for wrapping landmarks in fabric, sold for $9.6 million at auction on Wednesday.The 28 lots under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Paris included drawings for the couple’s “The Umbrellas (Joint project for Japan and USA),” two …
your ad hereThousands of Cold-stunned Sea Turtles Being Rescued in Texas
Residents, some of whom lack heat or basic amenities in their own homes due to the unusually chilly weather, have been rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles and taking them to a convention center in a South Texas resort town. “Every 15 minutes or less there’s another truck or SUV that pulls up,” …
your ad hereFacebook Blocks Australians From Accessing News on Platform
Facebook announced Thursday it has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism.Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can’t be viewed or shared by Australian audiences, …
your ad hereThree North Koreans Indicted in Sony Hack
The U.S. Justice Department has indicted three North Korean computer programmers for trying to extort and steal more than $1.3 billion as part of a global cyber scheme that included the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment.A Canadian American who allegedly laundered some of the stolen money also pleaded guilty …
your ad hereThree North Koreans Charged in Sony Hack
The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday indicted three North Koreans for their alleged role in the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a scheme that involved efforts to steal and extort more than $1.3 billion in cash and cryptocurrency.A Canadian American who allegedly laundered some of the stolen money also …
your ad hereUN Chief Calls on Rich Nations to Implement Global Vaccine Task Force
The U.N. secretary-general called on the world’s largest economies Wednesday to create a task force to plan and coordinate a global COVID-19 vaccination plan. “The world urgently needs a global vaccination plan to bring together all those with the required power, scientific expertise and production and financial capacities,” Antonio Guterres told …
your ad hereGerman Health Minister: British COVID-19 Variant Spreading Rapidly
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Wednesday the so-called British variant of COVID-19 is spreading quickly in his country, now accounting for more than 20 percent of all tested cases, and nearly four times the rate of two weeks earlier. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Spahn said that rate of spread …
your ad hereJapan Begins COVID-19 Vaccination Program
Japan began its long-awaited coronavirus vaccination program Wednesday. The first shots took place at a Tokyo hospital just hours after the hospital received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. As many as 40,000 doctors and nurses across the nation will receive the first doses of the vaccine, with the eventual goal of inoculating a …
your ad hereExplainer: Topsy-turvy Weather Comes From Polar Vortex
It’s as if the world has been turned upside-down, or at least its weather. You can blame the increasingly familiar polar vortex, which has brought a taste of the Arctic to places where winter often requires no more than a jacket. Around the North Pole, winter’s ultra-cold air is usually kept …
your ad here