When police respond to a person gripped by a mental health or drug crisis, the encounter can have tragic results. Now a government insurance program will help communities set up an alternative: mobile teams with mental health practitioners trained in de-escalating such potentially volatile situations.   The effort to reinvent …

A recycled SpaceX crew capsule has delivered four astronauts from three countries to the International Space Station.     The SpaceX capsule docked with the orbiting outpost early Saturday, according to the U.S. space agency NASA, after launching Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.      Friday’s lift-off …

Israel’s health ministry said Friday that no COVID deaths were recorded on Thursday. It was the first day in 10 months that the ministry did not register any COVID deaths.The last time no new cases were recorded in the Middle Eastern country was June 29.Israel has been a world leader …

Kenyans living with HIV say their lives are in danger due to a shortage of anti-retroviral drugs donated by the United States amid a dispute between the U.S. aid agency and the Kenyan government.The delayed release of the drugs shipped to Kenya late last year is due to the government …

U.S. President Joe Biden praised world leaders for coming together on climate change and urged them to make good on promises as he closed a virtual climate change summit hosted from the White House.“The commitments we’ve made must become real,” Biden said Friday on the last day of the two-day …

President Joe Biden aimed to accentuate the positive as he wrapped up his Leaders Summit on Climate Change on Friday. Biden highlighted the economic benefits the fight against climate change offers. But his plans still face an uphill battle at home. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …

U.S. health officials on Friday ended an 11-day pause on COVID-19 vaccinations using Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose shot, after scientific advisers decided its benefits outweighed the risk of rare blood clots.The government found 15 vaccine recipients who had developed the clots, out of nearly 8 million people given the J&J shot. All …

The coronavirus has conquered the world’s highest mountain.   A Norwegian climber became the first to be tested for COVID-19 in Mount Everest base camp and was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was hospitalized. Erlend Ness told The Associated Press in a message Friday that he tested positive …

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Immunization Committee is meeting Friday to consider lifting a pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.   The pause was widely implemented last week following the discovery of six U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clots …

In an exclusive interview with VOA, the director of Oxford University’s Jenner Institute says their new malaria vaccine, tested in Burkina Faso, has shown a preliminary efficacy rate of 77%, which could help prevent over 400,000 deaths a year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.  Henry Wilkins looks at the …

COVID-19 is surging at an astounding rate in India. The South Asian nation’s health ministry said Friday it had counted a record-breaking 332,730 new infections in the previous 24-hour period. The new tally surpasses Thursday’s record daily toll of 314,835 new infections.At least six hospitals in New Delhi, the capital, …

Since coronavirus pandemic began many Americans have gotten more used to make their own meals at home. But that doesn’t mean people do not want a great restaurant meal from time to time. Karina Bafradzhian reports. Camera: Andrey Degtyarev and Artyom Kokhan …

SpaceX is set to launch its third crew to the International Space Station early Friday, reusing a rocket and crew capsule in a human mission for the first time.The Crew-2 mission blasts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:49 a.m. Eastern Time (0949 GMT), …

Drought conditions now cover 85% of Mexico, and residents of the nation’s central region said Thursday that lakes and reservoirs are simply drying up, including the country’s second-largest body of fresh water.The mayor of Mexico City said the drought was the worst in 30 years, and the problem can be …

NASA makes history with its flying robot on Mars, a new commander takes the helm of the International Space Station, and the European Space Agency looks for solutions to the problem of space junk.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …

President Joe Biden has kicked off a two-day virtual global Summit on Climate with a pledge to substantially reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 2030 and double annual climate change funding to developing countries by 2024.  Forty world leaders as well as climate activists and representatives of international organizations are attending the summit, as VOA’s White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports. …

The Syrian government and the country’s last rebel-controlled enclave received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines Thursday.In a joint statement, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the GAVI vaccine alliance announced the delivery of 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Syria’s government and another 53,800 to the opposition-held area …

The U.S space agency NASA says its Perseverance rover has converted carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Martian atmosphere to oxygen, a critical step toward future human exploration of Mars.   NASA on Monday said a toaster-size, experimental instrument on the rover called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), …

The Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, Wednesday issued a statement disavowing a study being circulated online that claims face masks are “worthless” against COVID-19. The report, “Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis,” was published in November in the journal Medical Hypotheses. Its author, Baruch …

India reported 314,835 new COVID-19 infections Thursday, the highest one-day total posted by any nation during the yearlong global pandemic.By contrast, the United States posted 300,310 single day new cases on Jan. 2, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.India, the world’s second-most populous country, is dealing with a second …

As teenage pregnancies soared during coronavirus lockdowns in Africa’s largest urban slum, Kibera, teachers and parents looked for a way to reduce the problem.  Their idea was to form a women’s football (soccer) club, to direct their energy in a healthy way, and they became so good they are about …

Greta Thunberg turned 18 in January, but she’s already made peace with her future: While most college students will change their concentrations multiple times, the Swedish high school student says climate change activism will be her life’s mission.”In a perfect world, there wouldn’t need to be a climate activist, but …

Fifty-one years ago, young people planted trees for the first Earth Day.   Today, students are taking part in environmental law, science and other disciplines to heal the planet.  “You don’t have to be an environmental professional to help the environment,” Briana Allison, an environmental science student at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, wrote to …

The Japanese government may declare a new state of emergency for the cities of Tokyo and Osaka in response to another surge of COVID-19 infections. The Mainichi newspaper reported Wednesday that Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is requesting to impose an emergency decree from April 29 to May 9, which coincides with …

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that final rules announced in December took effect on Wednesday allowing for small drones to fly over people and at night, a significant step toward their eventual use for widespread commercial deliveries.The effective date was delayed about a month during the change in administration. …