With the Northern Hemisphere heading into winter and COVID-19 cases on the rise across Europe and North America, political leaders from Washington to Brussels are struggling to persuade a pandemic-weary public to get vaccinated against the disease that has killed more than 5 million people and sickened hundreds of millions …
your ad hereVolunteers Map Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in Vast Citizen Science Project
An expedition to find lost shipwrecks on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef begins Friday. The voyage is part of the Great Reef Census, one of the world’s largest marine citizen science projects. Conservationists estimate there are up to 900 shipwrecks on the Great Barrier Reef, but only 150 have been found. …
your ad hereCameroonian Fishermen Harvest Invasive Aquatic Fern to Create Energy Source
Cameroon’s largest lake, Lake Ossa, has been invaded by Salvinia molesta, an aquatic fern native to Brazil that hinders navigation, makes fishing impossible and blocks water access. To combat the spreading plant, a local aid group is training fishermen to harvest the fern and transform it into organic coal. Florent …
your ad hereEuropean Nations Add Boosters, Plan Shots for Children Amid COVID Surge
European countries expanded COVID-19 booster vaccinations, began plans to get shots to young children and tightened some curbs Thursday as the continent battled a surge in coronavirus cases and concerns about its economic fallout grew. Slovakia went into a two-week lockdown, and the Czech government declared a 30-day state of …
your ad hereAttacking an Asteroid
NASA tests an asteroid-assaulting system to protect planet Earth. Plus, Japanese tourists ready for the trip of a lifetime, and a look at the historic, sky-darkening lunar eclipse. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space …
your ad hereUSAID Says Wheat Seeds Sent to Northeast Syria Meet ‘High Standards’
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says the wheat seeds it recently provided to farmers in northeast Syria meet “high standards for safety and quality.” The announcement comes after claims by the Syrian government that the seeds donated by the U.S. agency “are not suitable for cultivation.” Last week, …
your ad hereCOVID Vaccine Company BioNTech Founders Aim to Tackle Cancer
Their goal was to find a cure for cancer, but the whole world recognized them for developing the first vaccine against the coronavirus. The founders of the German company BioNTech, Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, now turn their attention back to cancer. VOA’s Dilge Timocin interviewed Ugur Sahin and files …
your ad hereUS Nurses Leaving Hospital Bedsides
“I could not understand how this highly educated, powerful trauma nurse is now the patient.” A registered nurse who asks that we call her “Gi” is talking about herself. While working in the emergency room of her community hospital at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gi started crying unconsolably, …
your ad hereHow White House Thanksgiving Menu Evolved With Times
Most Americans don’t have oysters on their Thanksgiving table, but, for a time, the mollusks were a key ingredient on the White House holiday menu. “Oyster stuffing and various oyster elements were always included, especially in the later 19th century. Oysters were very popular,” says Lina Mann, a historian with the White House Historical Association. “I …
your ad hereUS, China and Cyberattacks, the Tool of the 21st Century
China was behind one of the biggest hacks of all time, quietly stealing email and data from organizations, according to the U.S. and other nations’ governments. Experts say China-orchestrated attacks on strategic targets have increased in recent years. Michelle Quinn reports. Producer: Michelle Quinn. Camera: Michael Burke. …
your ad here‘NFT’ Named ‘Word of the Year’ for 2021
“NFT” is 2021’s “Word of the Year,” Collins Dictionary announced Wednesday. NFT is an abbreviation for non-fungible token, which according to the dictionary is “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record ownership of an asset such as an artwork or a collectible.” Perhaps the …
your ad hereSmithsonian’s Arts and Industries Museum Closed Since 2004 Reopens
For the Smithsonian’s 175th anniversary, the 140-year-old Arts and Industries Building that has been closed for renovation since 2004 is reopening temporarily with an exhibition called Futures. The exhibition explores what our future may look like. Karina Bafradzhian visited the museum in Washington and has this story. Camera: Sergey Sokolov …
your ad hereNASA Launches Craft to Hit Asteroid
The U.S. space agency NASA has launched a spacecraft on a mission to test the ability to knock an asteroid off a potentially harmful collision course with Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will take 10 months to reach the asteroid Dimorphos before slamming into it at 24,000 kilometers per hour. Dimorphos does …
your ad hereJury Holds Pharmacies Responsible for Role in Opioid Crisis
CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for U.S. city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies accountable for their roles in the opioid crisis. Lake and …
your ad hereApple Sues Israeli Spyware Company NSO Group
Apple says it is suing Israeli NSO Group, maker of the controversial Pegasus spyware. Apple will be the second company to sue NSO after Facebook, now Meta, sued over similar concerns that Pegasus was targeting WhatsApp users. Meta owns WhatsApp. The case is still working its way through the courts. …
your ad hereMusician Jon Batiste Leads Grammy Award Nominations with 11
Jon Batiste might be the Grammys biggest surprise: The multi-genre performer and recent Oscar winner made such an impression on voters that he scored the most nominations with 11 on Tuesday. Batiste earned an album of the year nod for “We Are” along with record of the year with “Freedom,” …
your ad hereBeijing Warns Against ‘Malicious Hyping’ Over Peng Shuai Situation
Amid growing speculation on the whereabouts of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, China’s Foreign Ministry warned against politicizing and speculating about the star’s wellbeing. “This is not a diplomatic matter,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing on Tuesday. “I believe everyone will have seen she …
your ad hereBurkina Faso Internet Shutdown Continues into Fourth Day
The shutdown of internet access via mobile phone networks that began Saturday dragged on for a fourth day Tuesday. The government said in a statement the shutdown is in the interest of national defense and public security and will last until around 10 p.m. tonight. VOA talked to some Burkinabes on the streets of Ouagadougou to ask how the shutdown was affecting them …
your ad hereNASA, ESA Delay Launch of New Space Telescope
The U.S. space agency, NASA, and its European counterpart, the European Space Agency (ESA), have delayed the long-awaited launch of the James Webb space telescope to no earlier than December 22. In statements, both agencies say the launch is being held up for additional testing of the orbiting observatory after …
your ad hereNASA to Launch Test Mission of Asteroid-Deflecting Spacecraft
A SpaceX rocket was set to blast off from California late Tuesday as NASA seeks to demonstrate a first-of-its-kind planetary defense system, designed to deflect an asteroid from a potential doomsday collision with Earth. The DART mission will test NASA’s ability to alter an asteroid’s trajectory with kinetic force – …
your ad hereAustralian Team Probes Southern Ocean in Deep-Water Earthquake Research
A mission is underway to retrieve scientific data from the rugged ocean floor in the Southern Ocean, formerly known as the Antarctic Ocean, that could explain what triggers underwater earthquakes and tsunamis. Some of the world’s most violent underwater earthquakes are unleashed beneath the hostile waters of the Southern Ocean, …
your ad herePort-au-Prince Jazz Fest Postponed Because of Gang Violence
The Port-au-Prince international jazz festival, traditionally held in late January, has been postponed indefinitely because of gang violence that has plagued the Haitian capital for months, event organizers said Monday. “We can’t take the risk, either for the 150 musicians or for our teams or for the public,” Milena Sandler, director of the …
your ad hereExperts: US Boycott of Beijing Olympics Would Dash Seoul’s Hopes for Diplomacy
A U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics would deal a blow to Seoul’s attempts to resume diplomacy with North Korea, experts said. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden said that his administration was “considering” a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in February. Such a boycott would mean …
your ad hereClean Beauty
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that disrupts communication between the brain and the body. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry talks to a woman diagnosed with the disease about her journey to find a healthier life and learn about the positive changes she made to help relieve the symptoms …
your ad hereRobot Waiter Eases Labor Shortages in Australia’s Hospitality Industry
A Sydney restaurant is using a Chinese-made, multi-lingual hospitality robot to address chronic staff shortages as Australia’s economy begins to recover from COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures. The robot waiter is programmed to know the layout of the tables and delivers food from the kitchen. It is also multi-lingual, programmed to communicate …
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