High wind off the Florida coast have prompted SpaceX to delay the return of four space station astronauts who have been in orbit since spring. The U.S., French and Japanese astronauts were supposed to leave the International Space Station on Sunday, with their capsule splashing down in the Gulf of …
your ad herePoland’s Health Ministry Clarifies Abortion Law After Woman’s Death
Poland’s Health Ministry issued instructions Sunday to doctors confirming that it is legal to terminate a pregnancy when the woman’s health or life is in danger, a directive that comes amid apparent confusion over a new restriction to the country’s abortion law. The document addressed to obstetricians comes in reaction …
your ad hereNationwide Polio Eradication Campaign Starts in Afghanistan
The Taliban-run Afghan public health ministry announced Sunday the start of a four-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign aimed at inoculating children younger than 5. For the past three years before taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban had barred U.N.-organized vaccination teams from doing door-to-door campaigns in parts of the country …
your ad hereCalifornia Town Unhappy with State, Federal COVID Mandates
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said Sunday it has recorded 249.5 million global COVID cases and more than 5 million deaths. The center said 7.2 billion COVID vaccines have been administered. A northern California town’s city council has declared itself a “constitutional republic” as a way to express its …
your ad hereAfter CDC Recommends Some Children Be Vaccinated, Parents Debate Next Steps
Jesse Readlynn, a father of two from Rochester, New York, breathed a huge sigh of relief this week. “My children getting coronavirus was one of my biggest fears,” he told VOA.“Finally, this worry and uncertainty I’ve been living with can begin to relax.” Readlynn’s relief comes after last week’s U.S. …
your ad hereShocked Brazil Bids Goodbye to Country Star Mendonca
Thousands of people flooded the hometown of late Brazilian country music star Marilia Mendonca Saturday to pay an emotional tribute to the beloved singer, a day after she was killed in a plane crash at age 26. Mendonca, a Latin Grammy-winning superstar of Brazilian “sertanejo” music, died with four other …
your ad hereRestoring Mexico’s Mangroves Can Shield Shores, Store Carbon
When a rotten egg smell rises from the mangrove swamps of southeast Mexico, something is going well. It means that this key coastal habitat for blunting hurricane impacts has recovered and is capturing carbon dioxide — the main ingredient of global warming. While world leaders seek ways to stop the …
your ad hereBroken Toilet Leaves SpaceX Crew Stuck Using Diapers
The astronauts who will depart the International Space Station on Sunday will be stuck using diapers on the way home because of their capsule’s broken toilet. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur described the situation Friday as “suboptimal” but manageable. She and her three crewmates will spend 20 hours in their SpaceX …
your ad hereBrazilian Singer, Latin Grammy Winner Dies in Plane Crash
Marília Mendonça, one of Brazil’s most popular singers and a Latin Grammy winner, died Friday in an airplane crash on her way to a concert. She was 26. Mendonça’s press office confirmed her death in a statement and said four other passengers on the flight also died. Their plane crashed …
your ad hereAlleged Russian Hacks of Microsoft Service Providers Highlight Cybersecurity Deficiencies
Cybersecurity experts say Microsoft’s recent disclosure that alleged Russian hackers successfully attacked several IT service providers this year is a sign that many U.S. IT companies have underinvested in security measures needed to protect themselves and their customers from intrusions. But a U.S.-based association of IT professionals says the industry’s …
your ad hereGerman Government Calls for COVID-19 Booster Shots for All as Cases Surge
Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, called Friday for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for anyone who was fully vaccinated at least six months ago, as the nation faces a fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Speaking to reporters following a two-day summit in Bavaria with health ministers from the 16 German states, …
your ad hereUN Recap: October 31-November 5
Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. Leaders talk global warming in Glasgow — World leaders met in Glasgow, Scotland, this week to try to halt global warming. But with some …
your ad hereExodus of Foreign Internet Giants Strengthens China’s Homegrown Ecosystem
China now depends almost entirely on its own online content providers, as the number of big foreign companies in the market, such as Yahoo and LinkedIn, keeps dwindling, giving the government a boost in controlling the internet, analysts say. On Monday the Silicon Valley internet service provider Yahoo closed all …
your ad hereUS Calls on China Not to Limit Journalists’ Freedom at Winter Olympics
The United States on Thursday urged China not to restrict access and movement for journalists reporting on next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China this week said it was concerned about a lack of transparency from organizers of the Feb. 4-20 Games. “We urge PRC …
your ad herePfizer: COVID-19 Pill Cuts Risk of Severe Disease by 89%
U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced Friday its new COVID-19 pill showed an 89% reduction in risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or death in clinical trials and they plan to submit the drug to U.S. regulators for emergency use approval. In a release Friday, Pfizer said the latest clinical trials of its …
your ad hereYoung Activists to Take Spotlight for a Day at UN Climate Talks
Activists will take over the UN climate summit in Scotland on Friday, capping off a week of dizzying government speeches and pledges with a student march, youth-led presentations, and a giant iceberg shipped from Greenland to Glasgow’s River Clyde to dramatize the plight of the Arctic. UK organizers decided to …
your ad hereSouth Korea Showed How to Contain COVID, Now It Will Try to Live With It
Seats are once again packed at professional baseball games in South Korea. Just as in pre-pandemic times, fans can drink beer and eat fried chicken. They can clap their hands, stomp their feet, and wave inflatable noisemakers to support their team. What they are not allowed to do, though, at …
your ad hereCOP26: Britain Hails Global Deals to End Coal but Plans New Mine
The “end of coal” is in sight, according to Britain — the host of the COP26 climate summit — after dozens of countries pledged to stop using coal and end the financing of fossil fuels. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from the Glasgow summit, weaning economies off coal won’t be easy — even for Britain itself. Camera: Henry Ridgwell …
your ad hereWhy US Consumers Pay Such High Prices for Prescription Drugs
Congressional Democrats this week proposed an addition to U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate and social spending legislation that would allow Medicare, the federal government’s health care program for older Americans, to negotiate with drugmakers over the cost of certain prescription medications. U.S. consumers pay higher prices for prescription medications than …
your ad hereFrench Film Festival Highlights African Water Problem
A documentary about the impact of climate change in Africa is a highlight of the annual French film festival in Los Angeles this year. The festival, “City of Light, City of Angels,” draws filmmakers from Paris and fans from Los Angeles. Mike O’Sullivan reports on the documentary “Marcher sur L’eau” …
your ad hereSenior UNICEF Official in Zimbabwe Assesses Funded Projects
Belinda Kaziwisi of Mount Darwin, Zimbabwe, about 200 kilometers north of Harare, is among the Zimbabwean mothers seeing the benefits that have grown from money provided by UNICEF. “What I see has changed for the better is that from when I got pregnant until up to the delivery of my …
your ad hereManufacturing Moon Ships and NASA Warns of Climate Catastrophe
An Earth-flight giant contributes to NASA’s upcoming moon missions. Plus, words from the next crew to visit the International Space Station and grim news from NASA about the future of food on Earth. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. …
your ad hereWHO: Europe Now Epicenter of COVID-19 Pandemic
The World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe said Thursday the continent is now the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for 59 percent of all cases globally. At a virtual news briefing from Copenhagen, Hans Kluge said the current pace of transmission across the region’s 53 countries is of grave concern. He said new cases are approaching record levels, with the delta variant …
your ad hereTennis Star Accuses China Ex-Vice Premier of Sexual Assault
Chinese authorities have squelched virtually all online discussion of sexual assault accusations apparently made by a Chinese professional tennis star against a former top government official, showing how sensitive the ruling Communist Party is to such charges. In a lengthy social media post that disappeared quickly, Peng Shuai wrote that …
your ad hereStudy Shows COVID-19 Pandemic Diminished Life Expectancy Around the Globe in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic shortened life expectancy around the globe last year, according to a new international study. A team of researchers led by University of Oxford public health professor Nazur Islam examined changes to life expectancy in 37 upper-middle- and high-income countries, using the years between 2005 and 2019 as a benchmark, and compared the ages of the …
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