From the door of the expedition base, a few small steps to the left an autonomous rover passes by. A few giant leaps to the right is an array of solar panels. The landscape is rocky, hilly, tinged with red. Purposefully it resembles Mars. Here, in the Ramon Crater in …
your ad hereWHO Calls for Governments to Fund Mental Health Treatment
The World Health Organization is calling on governments to allocate the money needed to increase access to mental health treatment. WHO has published a new Mental Health Atlas marking World Mental Health Day Sunday. Data collected from 171 countries show none of the World Health Assembly targets for the provision …
your ad hereEthiopia’s Tura, Kenya’s Chepngetich Win at Chicago Marathon
Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura Abdiwak won the Chicago men’s marathon on Sunday and Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich the women’s race. The 24-year-old Tura completed the 42-kilometer course in 2:06:12, beating out American Galen Rupp, who finished close behind with an official time of 02:06:35. Chepngetich, 27, finished her race in 02:22:31, with …
your ad hereReport: Moderna Fails to Supply Poor Countries with COVID Vaccines
A report in The New York Times says that the manufacturers of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine which “appears to be the world’s best defense against COVID-19, has been supplying its shots almost exclusively to wealthy nations, keeping poorer countries waiting and earning billions in profit.” The newspaper said their report …
your ad hereInfrastructure Successes Have Transformed America, Can Biden’s Plan do the Same?
Congress appears poised to pass a bipartisan, $1 trillion plan that would be the largest federal investment in infrastructure in more than a decade. History shows that investing in infrastructure can transform the United States, changing how Americans move, bolstering economic prosperity, and significantly improving the health and quality of life for many. …
your ad hereRussians Travel to Serbia for Western-Made COVID-19 Vaccines
When Russian regulators approved the country’s own coronavirus vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection. But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot. So when the family from Rostov-on-Don …
your ad hereRecord Number of Players Defect From Cuba’s National Baseball Team
One player took off from the airport, while another jumped out of the window of his hotel room. In all, of the 24 members of Cuba’s national baseball team who arrived in Mexico for the under-23 World Cup, only about half came home. This year, a record number of players …
your ad hereIs Steve Jobs’ Legacy at Apple Wearing Thin?
Ten years ago, Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer at 56. He played a huge role in making Apple one of the most successful companies in the world. But what does Apple’s future look like? Karina Bafradzhian has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …
your ad hereFrance’s Macron Vows Return of African Art, Admitting ‘Colonial Pillage’
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that his country will return 26 African artworks — royal thrones, ceremonial altars, revered statues — to Benin later this month, part of France’s long-promised plans to give back artwork taken from Africa during the colonial era. Discussions have been under way for years …
your ad hereCOVID Said to Have Sparked Rise in Global Depression, Anxiety
The COVID-19 outbreak has apparently sparked a global rise in depression and anxiety. According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, there were millions more of such cases last year than had been projected. Women and young people were the groups most affected by pandemic-related depression and …
your ad hereSummer Storms Were a Climate-Change Wake-Up Call for Subways
When the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped record-breaking rain on the East Coast this month, staircases into New York City’s subway tunnels turned into waterfalls and train tracks became canals. In Philadelphia, a commuter line along the Schuylkill River was washed out for miles, and the nation’s busiest rail line, …
your ad hereHong Kong’s Boy Band Mirror Reflects Expats’ Yearning for Home
Jenny Chan strode through central London on a late summer Saturday afternoon, heading for the South Bank Lion statue opposite Big Ben. There, by the River Thames, the 57-year-old mother and her two children joined a group of fellow Hong Kong expats who had gathered to sign a banner for Anson …
your ad hereBiden Signs Law Helping ‘Havana Syndrome’ Victims
President Joe Biden on Friday signed legislation that will provide financial support to U.S. government employees believed to be suffering from the so-called Havana syndrome, mysterious health incidents that have affected American intelligence officers, diplomats and other personnel around the world. “Today, I was pleased to sign the HAVANA Act …
your ad hereRussian Agency: More than 49,000 Died From COVID-19 in August
Russia’s state statistics service reported nearly 50,000 coronavirus deaths in the country in August, taking the toll since the beginning of the pandemic to over 400,000, nearly double the official government figure. Rosstat released its figures late Friday, reporting that 49,389 people died from COVID-19 in August, a figure much …
your ad hereChinese Cyber Operations Scoop Up Data for Political, Economic Aims
Mustang Panda is a Chinese hacking group that is suspected of attempting to infiltrate the Indonesian government last month. The reported breach, which the Indonesians denied, fits the pattern of China’s recent cyberespionage campaigns. These attacks have been increasing over the past year, experts say, in search of social, economic …
your ad hereImpact of Forest Thinning on Wildfires Creates Dissent
Firefighters and numerous studies credit intensive forest thinning projects with helping save communities like those recently threatened near Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, but dissent from some environmental advocacy groups is roiling the scientific community. States in the U.S. West and the federal government each year thin thousands of …
your ad hereNew Ebola Case Confirmed in Eastern DR Congo
A case of Ebola has been confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an internal report on Friday from the national biomedical laboratory, five months after the end of the most recent outbreak there. Congo’s health minister declined to confirm the information but said a statement would be …
your ad hereFacebook Messenger, Instagram Service Disrupted for Second Time in a Week
Facebook confirmed on Friday that some users were having trouble accessing its apps and services, days after the social media giant suffered a six-hour outage triggered by an error during routine maintenance on its network of data centers. Some users were unable to load their Instagram feeds, while others were …
your ad hereAmericans Agree Misinformation Is a Problem, Poll Shows
Nearly all Americans agree that the rampant spread of misinformation is a problem. Most also think social media companies, and the people that use them, bear a good deal of blame for the situation. But few are very concerned that they themselves might be responsible, according to a new poll …
your ad hereRussian Movie Crew Makes History in Space
A Russian film crew blasts into space on a moviemaking history mission, an American actor known for playing a space explorer gets the chance to see the real deal, and more. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more on the Week in Space. …
your ad hereUS Effort to Stop Malaria Lauds Vaccine, Rolls Out 5-Year Plan
The announcement of the first-ever malaria vaccine not only inspires hope in the battle against one of the planet’s most pernicious diseases but also underscores the need to attack this scourge on multiple fronts, says the head of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, which this week rolled out an ambitious …
your ad hereClimate-Friendly Fuel Synthetic Kerosene Could Be Game-Changer in Aviation
German officials unveiled this week what they said is the world’s first commercial plant for making synthetic kerosene. It’s seen as a climate-friendly way to produce jet fuel and could potentially be game-changing. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo. …
your ad hereMicrosoft: Russia Cyberattacks Targeting More Governments, Agencies
Russia appears to be getting more aggressive and more successful as the nation’s hackers launch a growing number of cyberattacks against the United States and other nations, according to a new report by Microsoft. Microsoft’s 2021 Digital Defense Report warns that what it labels as “Russian nation-state actors” are responsible for …
your ad hereWHO Launches Strategy to Vaccinate 40% of World Against Covid by End of 2021
The U.N. secretary-general and the head of the World Health Organization launched an ambitious strategy Thursday to have 40% of the world’s population vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of this year, and 70% by mid-2022. “With vaccine production now at nearly 1.5 billion doses per month, we can reach …
your ad hereGerman Health Minister Says Vaccinations Further Along Than Thought
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Thursday the nation has vaccinated millions more people than previously thought, thanks to some unreported vaccination numbers discovered by the Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control. The institute says nearly 80% of adults in Germany are fully vaccinated, and about 84% have received at …
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