Russia’s space agency said it is considering a plan to send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) to bring home three crew members ahead of schedule, after their Soyuz capsule sprang a coolant leak while docked to the orbiting outpost. Roscosmos and NASA officials said at a …
your ad hereFormer Judge on China’s Top Court Suggests End to Prosecution of ‘Zero-COVID’ Violators
A former judge of the Supreme People’s Court, the highest court in China, is calling for the suspension or revocation of cases against some 80 people found guilty of violating “zero-COVID” policy regulations since the advent of omicron, a less deadly variant that began spreading in December 2021. China implemented …
your ad hereWhistleblower Files Complaint to Congress Over Twitter Suspending Journalists
Nearly a week after Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk said that the accounts of suspended journalists would be reinstated, at least six remain blocked. Voice of America’s chief national correspondent, Steve Herman, is among them. Twitter suspended the accounts Dec. 15 over posts about another removed account — @Elonjet — …
your ad hereFrance Planning AI-Assisted Crowd Control for Paris Olympics
French authorities plan to use an AI-assisted crowd control system to monitor people during the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to a draft law seen by AFP on Thursday. The system is intended to allow the security services to detect disturbances and potential problems more easily, but will not use facial …
your ad hereTurkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt Building Factories for Battery Powered Vehicles
Between the close of this year’s climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh and the 2023 climate event slated for December 2023 in the UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt are all working to position themselves as new electric vehicle powerhouses. Signaling an era where next-generation electric vehicles are made in …
your ad hereWhat Kind of Leader Does Twitter Need?
If not Elon, then who? That’s a question many are contemplating since Elon Musk, Twitter’s CEO, said this week he was actively looking for a new leader to run the social media network. Musk’s proclamation comes after more than 10 million respondents said in a Musk-created Twitter poll that he …
your ad hereAmid Rising Costs, Some US Farmers Turn to Environmentally Friendly ‘Carbon Farming’
As farmers in the United States are coping with rising input costs, some are turning to environmentally beneficial methods to curb expenses and make money while sequestering a driver of climate change. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Glasgow, Illinois. …
your ad hereWHO Expresses Concern About COVID Situation in China
The World Health Organization is concerned about a spike in COVID-19 infections in China and is supporting the government to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, the head of the U.N. agency said on Wednesday. Infections have recently spiked in the world’s second-largest …
your ad hereMusk Says He’ll Be Twitter CEO Until a Replacement Is Found
Elon Musk said Tuesday that he plans on remaining as Twitter’s CEO until he can find someone willing to replace him in the job. Musk’s announcement came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in an unscientific poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by. …
your ad hereNASA Mars Lander Insight Falls Silent After 4 Years
It could be the end of the red dusty line for NASA’s InSight lander, which has fallen silent after four years on Mars. The lander’s power levels have been dwindling for months because of all the dust coating its solar panels. Ground controllers at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory knew the …
your ad hereSmithsonian Entertainment Exhibition Tells US Story Through Prism of Pop Culture
Prince’s guitar, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Jim Henson’s original handmade Kermit the Frog — these are among the 200-plus items on display at the new exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Videographer: Artyom Kokhan …
your ad hereHarvey Weinstein Found Guilty of Rape in Los Angeles Trial
Harvey Weinstein was found guilty Monday of rape at a Los Angeles trial in another #MeToo moment of reckoning, five years after he became a magnet for the movement. After deliberating for nine days spanning more than two weeks, the jury of eight men and four women reached the verdict …
your ad hereHistoric Biodiversity Agreement Reached at UN Conference
Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world. The global framework comes on the day the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or …
your ad hereMystery Nevada Fossil Site Could Be Ancient Maternity Ward
Scientists have uncovered new clues about a curious fossil site in Nevada, a graveyard for dozens of giant marine reptiles. Instead of the site of a massive die-off as suspected, it might have been an ancient maternity ward where the creatures came to give birth. The site is famous for …
your ad hereArt Museum Immerses Visitors in Holiday Multiverse
With images of snowy villages, nutcrackers, candy canes and more, Artechouse’s “Spectacular Factory: The Holiday Multiverse” brings to life the festive feelings of the season. Maxim Moskalkov visited the event. Camera: Sergey Sokolov …
your ad hereWill Elon Musk Save or Destroy Twitter?
Elon Musk had an eventful year, capping 2022 with a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, a takeover that almost didn’t happen. The controversial CEO has brought changes and disruptions, layoffs and resignations that put Twitter’s fate into question. VOA’s Tina Trinh has more. …
your ad hereFemale ‘Priests’ Secretly Celebrating Catholic Masses
An underground Catholic movement started in 2002 with the secret ‘ordination’ of seven women in Germany by official male bishops. The movement has grown to 250 women globally, despite the Catholic Church’s rules preventing women from becoming priests. VOA senior Washington correspondent Carolyn Presutti takes us to several masses to …
your ad hereSunday Marked the Beginning of Hanukkah Celebrations
U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a Hanukkah reception at the White House Monday evening. There will be a menorah lighting and the menorah, created by the Whie House carpentry shop, will become the first Jewish artifact added to the White House archives. Hanukkah, the …
your ad hereTwitter Poll Closes, Users Vote in Favor of Musk Exit as CEO
More than half of 17.5 million users who responded to a poll that asked whether billionaire Elon Musk should step down as head of Twitter voted yes when the poll closed on Monday. There was no immediate announcement from Twitter, or Musk, about whether that would happen, though he said …
your ad here‘Avatar 2’ Makes Waves With $134 Million Domestic Debut
“Avatar: The Way of Water ” didn’t make quite as big of a splash as many assumed it would, but James Cameron’s big budget spectacle still helped breathe life into the box office this weekend. The sequel earned $134 million from North American theaters and $300.5 million internationally for a …
your ad hereTwitter Bans Linking to Facebook, Instagram, Other Rivals
Twitter users will no longer be able to link to certain rival social media websites, including what the company described Sunday as “prohibited platforms” Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon. It’s the latest move by Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk to crack down on certain speech after he shut down a Twitter …
your ad hereRussian Cartoonist in US Blasts Ukraine War Through Art
When Igor Ponochevny drew his first political cartoon, he was living in Russia and working at a bank. Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 inspired him to draw under the pen name Alyosha Stupin. VOA Russian spoke with the artist. Anna Rice narrates the story. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian. …
your ad hereBeloved ‘Hollywood Cat’ Mountain Lion Euthanized in Los Angeles
Hollywood Cat is no longer. The Los Angeles area’s most famous mountain lion, an aged wild male feline sighted around the city’s Griffith Park, was euthanized Saturday, wildlife officials said. For years, it was known to prowl around the hillside “Hollywood” sign visible around much of Los Angeles, a fitting …
your ad hereFrustrated Virtual Reality Pioneer Leaves Facebook’s Parent
A prominent video game creator who helped lead Facebook’s expansion into virtual reality has resigned from the social networking service’s corporate parent after becoming disillusioned with the way the technology is being managed. John Carmack cut his ties with Meta Platforms, a holding company created last year by Facebook founder …
your ad hereUganda Lifts Lockdown in Ebola Epicenter
Uganda on Saturday lifted a two-month lockdown on two districts at the epicenter of the country’s Ebola epidemic, amid cautious hope that the outbreak could end soon. Since authorities declared an Ebola outbreak Sept. 20, the East African nation has registered 142 confirmed cases and 56 deaths, with the disease …
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