North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered a nationwide lockdown Thursday to try to contain a highly transmissible variant of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, which was confirmed in the country this week for the first time. The official Korean Central News Agency said genetic sequencing analysis of samples collected from …
your ad hereFirst Look at Black Hole in Center of Our Galaxy
An image once thought impossible becomes reality. Plus, the International Space Station has four fewer passengers. And you might have heard of the company that was trying to catch a rocket from the sky. It did it. Sort of. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
your ad hereAstronomers Capture 1st Image of Milky Way’s Huge Black Hole
The world got a look Thursday at the first wild but fuzzy image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers believe nearly all galaxies, including our own, have these giant black holes at their center, where light and matter cannot escape, making …
your ad hereJustices to Meet for 1st Time Since Leak of Draft Roe Ruling
The Supreme Court’s nine justices will gather in private Thursday for their first scheduled meeting since the leak of a draft opinion that would overrule Roe v. Wade and sharply curtail abortion rights in roughly half the states. The meeting in the justices’ private, wood-paneled conference room could be a …
your ad hereNorth Korea Officially Reports First COVID-19 Outbreak
North Korea officially confirmed its first COVID-19 outbreak Thursday, with state media reporting a sub-variant of the highly transmissible omicron virus, known as BA.2, had been detected in Pyongyang. “There has been the biggest emergency incident in the country, with a hole in our emergency quarantine front, that has been …
your ad hereUS Lawmakers Fail to Pass Measure to Protect Abortion Rights
Democratic party lawmakers in the U.S. failed Wednesday to pass a measure essentially codifying the right to an abortion. The vote comes after revelations the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark ruling that legalized abortion. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. …
your ad hereUS Records More Than 107,000 Drug Overdose Deaths for 2021
The U.S. set another record for drug overdose deaths last year with more than 107,000 fatalities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Wednesday. The provisional 2021 total represents a 15% jump from the previous record in 2020, and means there is roughly one overdose death in the country …
your ad hereDNA Molecules May Ease Future Data Storage Crunch
Researchers say DNA can replace hard drives to help store the world’s ever-increasing digital output. Matt Dibble has the story …
your ad hereAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef Hit by Mass Coral Bleaching Event
For the fourth time in seven years, the authority that administers one of Australia’s greatest natural treasures has reported widespread bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. This occurs when the sea is too warm for too long. It forces the coral to expel microscopic symbiotic algae that gives it most …
your ad hereBill Gates Says He Has COVID-19, Experiencing Mild Symptoms
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms. Via Twitter, the billionaire philanthropist said he will isolate until he is again healthy. “I’m fortunate to be vaccinated and boosted and have access to testing and great medical care,” Gates wrote. The …
your ad hereElon Musk Says He’d Reinstate Trump’s Twitter Account
Elon Musk on Tuesday said he would reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. The Tesla CEO who’s vying to buy Twitter and take it private for a reported price tag of $44 billion made the comment at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference. “I do think that …
your ad hereStudy: Shipping a Major Threat to World’s Biggest Fish
A new study led by the Marine Biological Association of the U.K. and the University of Southampton, along with experts in Australia and New Zealand, found that industrialized shipping could be killing large numbers of whale sharks. Marine biologists have said that whale shark numbers have been falling in recent …
your ad hereEarth Given 50-50 Chance of Hitting Key Warming Mark by 2026
The world is creeping closer to the warming threshold international agreements are trying to prevent, with a nearly 50-50 chance that Earth will temporarily hit that temperature mark within the next five years, teams of meteorologists across the globe predicted. With human-made climate change continuing, there’s a 48% chance that …
your ad hereBiden Starts Program to Provide Discounted Internet Service in US
The Biden administration announced on Monday that 20 internet companies have agreed to provide discounted service to people with low incomes, a program that could effectively make tens of millions of households across the U.S. eligible for free service through an already existing federal subsidy. The $1 trillion infrastructure package …
your ad hereNew ‘Doctor Who’ star is ‘Sex Education’ actor Ncuti Gatwa
Ncuti Gatwa will take the mantle from Jodie Whittaker on “Doctor Who,” the BBC announced Sunday, ending speculation over the iconic Time Lord’s next regeneration. “Sometimes talent walks through the door and it’s so bright and bold and brilliant, I just stand back in awe and thank my lucky stars,” …
your ad hereUS Senate to Vote on Abortions Rights Bill
Democrats are moving forward this week on a Senate vote on a bill that would codify abortion rights into federal law, in the wake of a leaked draft from the Supreme Court that signals a possible end to the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. As …
your ad hereLeaked US Court Opinion Mobilizes Abortion Rights Supporters, Opponents
The U.S. Supreme Court may overturn federal protections for abortions, according to a leaked draft of an opinion expected in the next few months. That would leave the legal status of abortions up to individual states. For VOA, Deana Mitchell reports from Texas, where women are not permitted to have …
your ad hereU2’s Bono Gives ‘Freedom’ Concert in Kyiv Metro
Irish rock group U2’s frontman Bono and his bandmate The Edge performed a 40-minute concert in a metro station in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Sunday and praised Ukrainians fighting for their freedom from Russia. “Your president leads the world in the cause of freedom right now … The …
your ad hereCenturies-old Passion Play Returns after Pandemic Break
Almost 400 years ago, the Catholic residents of a small Bavarian village vowed to perform a play of “the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ” every 10 years, if only God would spare them any further losses from the plague known as the Black Death. Legend has …
your ad hereMotherhood Deferred: US Median Age for Giving Birth Hits 30
For Allyson Jacobs, life in her 20s and 30s was about focusing on her career in health care and enjoying the social scene in New York City. It wasn’t until she turned 40 that she and her husband started trying to have children. They had a son when she was …
your ad hereAs Beijing COVID Outbreak Proves Stubborn, Mass Tests Becoming Routine
Millions of Beijing residents queued up for another round of COVID-19 tests Sunday as China’s capital seeks to trace and isolate every infection to contain a small but stubborn outbreak — and avoid a Shanghai-type prolonged lockdown. Strict COVID curbs in Beijing, Shanghai and dozens of other major cities across …
your ad hereMickey Gilley, Who Helped Inspire ‘Urban Cowboy,’ Dies at 86
Country star Mickey Gilley, whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film Urban Cowboy and a nationwide wave of Western-themed nightspots, has died. He was 86. Gilley died Saturday in Branson, Missouri, where he helped run the Mickey Gilley Grand Shanghai Theatre. He had been performing as recently as last …
your ad hereLong Shot Rich Strike Stuns with Win at 148th Kentucky Derby
Rich Strike came off a blistering pace at odds of more than 80-1 to beat 19 blue-blooded opponents and produce one of the biggest upsets in history while capturing the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Rich Strike, who was only …
your ad hereGrowing African Mangrove Forests Aim to Combat Climate Woes
In a bid to protect coastal communities from climate change and encourage investment, African nations are increasingly turning to mangrove restoration projects, with Mozambique becoming the latest addition to the growing list of countries with large scale mangrove initiatives. Mozambique follows efforts across the continent — including in Kenya, Madagascar, …
your ad hereBob Dylan Museum Opening in Tulsa
Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and Mavis Staples will be among the dignitaries expected in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this weekend for the opening of the Bob Dylan Center, the museum and archive celebrating the Nobel laureate’s work. Dylan himself won’t be among them, unless he surprises everyone. The center’s subject and namesake …
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