Microsoft won a nearly $22 billion contract to supply U.S. Army combat troops with its augmented reality headsets. Microsoft and the Army separately announced the deal Wednesday. The technology is based on Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets, which were originally intended for the video game and entertainment industries. …
your ad hereTraveling Kenyan Music Producer Gives Hope to Rural Artists
A Kenyan music producer is taking his work to remote villages to record up-and-coming artists on location to offer something new and different for Kenya’s competitive music industry.Producer Presta George imagined how difficult it must be for village artists to get their songs on the radio, let alone become famous.And …
your ad hereCDC: COVID-19 Third Largest Cause of US Deaths in 2020
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Wednesday that COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States during 2020, and it boosted the overall U.S. death toll by nearly 16% from the previous year.During the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, CDC Director …
your ad hereRace to Produce COVID Vaccine May Cause Measles Jabs Shortage
World Health Organization experts fear the race to produce large quantities of COVID-19 vaccine could cut into the supply of global measles vaccines. Critical topics relating to immunization globally were discussed during a regular meeting last week by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, known as SAGE. Recommendations were …
your ad hereSouth Africans Construct Award-Winning Zero Carbon Home
A team of South Africans has won a Cape Town competition to create a zero-carbon home, just ahead of Earth Day on April 22. Experts say the house design, which incorporates solar power, passive cooling, rainwater harvesting, and a food garden, could help reduce the nation’s carbon footprint. Vinicius Assis …
your ad hereAs COVID-19 Epicenter, South Africa to Receive 41 Million Vaccine Doses
The coronavirus vaccine is coming, with South Africa expecting to conclude negotiations in upcoming weeks to vaccinate 41 million people, and the next stage of vaccinations to begin in May, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced late Tuesday. In addition to 31 million doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, President …
your ad hereWhy Diverse Children’s Books Matter to America’s Future
The United States is becoming an increasingly diverse country. With whites expected to account for less than 50-percent of the population by 2045, there’s a push to make books for children as diverse as the nation itself. As VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, experts say the success level of future American …
your ad hereForest Losses Increased Again in 2020
The world lost a Netherlands-sized area of mature tropical forests in 2020, the second year in a row of worsening losses, according to the latest figures from the research and advocacy organization the World Resources Institute (WRI). The losses are helping drive climate change and also being driven by it, as hot, …
your ad hereUS Lawmakers Press Big Tech for Internal Research on Kids’ Mental Health
Four Republican U.S. lawmakers requested on Tuesday that Facebook Inc., Twitter, and Alphabet Inc.’s Google turn over any studies they have done on how their services affect children’s mental health.The request follows a joint hearing last week of two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees at which the companies’ chief executives …
your ad hereUS Olympics Committee Sets Rules for Protests at US Olympic Trials
Athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic trials can protest, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said Tuesday, including kneeling or raising a clenched fist on the podium or at the start line during the national anthem. In a detailed document, the USOPC outlined a wide range of ways athletes …
your ad hereUS, 13 Other Nations Concerned About WHO COVID Origins Report
The United States and 13 other nations issued a statement Tuesday raising “shared concerns” about the newly released World Health Organization report on the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19. The statement, released on the U.S. State Department website, as well as the other signatories, said it was essential …
your ad hereCOVID Pandemic Has Big Effect in Small Nation of eSwatini
Eddie Simelane is a patient. Every two months, this 46-year-old, HIV-positive father of four wakes up early to line up at a government clinic near eSwatini’s capital for his supply of free anti-retroviral medication. The emaSwati are no strangers to pandemics. This small nation, formerly known as Swaziland, has …
your ad hereSpaceX’s SN11 Rocket Prototype Explodes Upon Landing
Elon Musk’s SpaceX suffered another setback Tuesday when one of its experimental rockets malfunctioned during a test flight at the company’s Texas facility. The incident occurred as the Starship SN11 prototype was attempting to land after what the company called a normal ascent to roughly 12 kilometers in altitude. …
your ad hereA ‘Soft’ Robot Dropped by Drone Helps First Responders
A robot conceived to roll on planets is being used by firefighters in the U.S. to give them “situational awareness” before going into dangerous situations. It’s called Squishy, and Michelle Quinn found out more.Camera: Michelle Quinn Producer: Michelle Quinn …
your ad hereWHO, EU, World Leaders Support Pandemic Treaty
Leaders of the European Union, (EU) the World Health Organization (WHO) and 23 countries expressed support Tuesday for an international pandemic treaty to help the world better address future global medical emergencies. The world leaders, along with the WHO and the EU, signed a commentary published in several media outlets …
your ad here3 Female Polio Vaccinators Killed in Afghanistan
Unknown gunmen have shot dead three female anti-polio workers in Afghanistan, one of the two countries in the world along with its neighbor Pakistan, where the crippling children’s disease remains endemic. Tuesday’s violence came on the second day of a five-day polio immunization drive, this year’s first in the …
your ad hereBiden Boosts Offshore Wind Energy, Wants to Power 10 Million Homes
The Biden administration is moving to sharply increase offshore wind energy along the East Coast, saying Monday it is taking initial steps toward approving a huge wind farm off the New Jersey coast as part of an effort to generate electricity for more than 10 million homes nationwide by 2030. Meeting …
your ad hereWHO Report: COVID-19 Likely First Jumped Into Humans from Animals
A joint World Health Organization-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press.The findings offer little …
your ad hereIndians Gather for Holi Celebrations as Virus Cases Surge
Hindus threw colored powder and sprayed water in massive Holi celebrations Monday despite many Indian states restricting gatherings to try to contain a coronavirus resurgence rippling across the country. Holi marks the advent of spring and is widely celebrated throughout Hindu-majority India. Most years, millions of people throw colored …
your ad hereBiden: 90% of US Adults Will Be Eligible for COVID Vaccine by April 19
Nine out of 10 adults in the United States will be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine three weeks from now, President Joe Biden announced Monday during remarks that were dosed with a warning of a devastating resurgence of COVID-19 in the country.“We’re in a life-and-death race with a virus that …
your ad hereClean, Hot Water Installed at All eSwatini Clinics
Before the pandemic hit, 82 percent of clinics in the landlocked Southern African nation of eSwatini lacked hot running water. That has changed in the last 6 months, with the installation of solar-powered water heaters in every single government clinic, opening up clean health facilities to up to 10,000 people …
your ad hereUgandan Climate Activist Rallies Schoolchildren to Value Trees
Ugandan environmentalist Vanessa Nakate is taking the fight against climate change to schools, rallying students to join the fight. Ahead of Earth Day (April 22), Halima Athumani covers one of her school rallies from Kampala.Camera: Francis Mukasa …
your ad hereFacebook, Google Announce Plans for Undersea Cables Joining Asia, North America
After canceling plans for undersea cables connecting the United States with Hong Kong because of U.S. government pressure, Facebook and Google now say they will run similar cables to Singapore and Indonesia. “Named Echo and Bifrost, those will be the first two cables to go through a new diverse …
your ad herePlastic Pollution Packs the Surface of Bolivian Lake
It can take hundreds of years for plastic containers to break down, if ever at all. Their presence reshapes entire ecosystems, and experts in Bolivia are calling for action to protect their communities. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.Producer: Arash Arabasadi …
your ad hereEddie Murphy Inducted into NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame
Eddie Murphy was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame at the organization’s show that highlighted works by entertainers and athletes of color. After Murphy accepted his induction award Saturday night, the actor-comedian said he was “very moved” by the honor. He was presented the award by his longtime …
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