This year’s Consumer Electronics Show will end a day earlier than planned, the organizer of the global technology and gadget show said, after companies including Amazon and General Motors dropped out of attending the Las Vegas event in person because of omicron concerns. “The step was taken as an additional safety measure to the current…
read morePakistan says it has administered 155 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Friday, fully vaccinating 70 million people, or 30% of the country’s total population, since launching the inoculation drive in February. The South Asian nation of about 220 million reported its first case in early 2020 and since then the pandemic has infected about…
read moreAfrican American voters helped propel President Joe Biden to the White House and were instrumental in securing Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. A year later, some of Biden’s most loyal supporters are increasingly frustrated about 2020 campaign promises not realized. “I voted for Biden but feel disappointed his administration hasn’t delivered more for…
read moreRecord snowfalls in the western United States that closed roads and caused flight delays also brought some good news for drought-hit California on Thursday, with officials saying the state’s snowpack is now well above normal. After a string of mountain blizzards, snowpack measured at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada stands at more than 200%…
read moreSouth Africa has lifted a midnight-to-4 a.m. curfew on people’s movement, effective immediately, saying the country has passed the peak of its fourth COVID-19 wave driven by the omicron variant, a government statement said Thursday. However, wearing a face mask in public places remains mandatory. Failure to wear a mask in South Africa when required…
read moreNASA successfully launched its much-anticipated next-generation space telescope. Now come weeks of nervousness for project scientists who can only hope the next steps go as planned. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. Produced by: Arash Arabasadi Camera : AP/ NASA TV/ PURDUE UNIVERSITY/ YOUTUBE NASA/ “ARMAGEDDON” / TOUCHSTONE PICTURES – JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS/ NASA JOHNS HOPKINS APL …
read moreThe top infectious disease expert in the United States is urging Americans to avoid taking part in mass New Year’s Eve celebrations as the nation continues to set record-breaking levels of daily new coronavirus infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. The U.S. posted 489,267 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, just…
read moreIran has used a satellite launch rocket to send three research devices into space, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Thursday, as indirect U.S.-Iran talks take place in Austria to try to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal. He did not clarify whether the devices had reached orbit. Iran, which has one of the biggest missile…
read moreThe Biden administration came into office vowing “America is back,” with Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledging to work closely to boost ties with allies. But unexpected crises, coups and conflicts in Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan and Ukraine have also commanded the top U.S. diplomat’s attention in 2021. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.…
read moreTidal waves and coastal erosion have submerged an entire fishing community on Ghana’s eastern coast. Many villagers had already been relocated from past tidal waves and have petitioned the government for a permanent solution. Senanu Tord reports from the village of Fuvemeh in Ghana. Camera: Senanu Tord …
read moreThe World Health Organization is warning that the rapid circulation of the omicron and delta variants of the coronavirus is leading to a tsunami of cases, severe disease and surging deaths among the unvaccinated. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that while science had led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, the global death toll…
read moreFrom insurrection and impeachment to infrastructure and COVID relief funding, 2021 was one of the most significant years on Capitol Hill in decades. Lawmakers had to deal with the impact of a global pandemic while trying to pass an ambitious legislative agenda during the first year of a new presidency. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson…
read moreThe United States recorded more than 512,000 daily new coronavirus cases Tuesday – the single highest one-day number of cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data released by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center The one-day record coincides with a New York Times database showing the seven-day average of cases in the U.S. rose above 267,000…
read moreThe growing issue of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans is affecting coastal marine life, transporting many species to areas of the open ocean, surprising researchers. A group of U.S. and Canadian marine and environmental scientists were amazed to find that some species are thriving on plastic trash floating in the Pacific Ocean. The team…
read moreHarry Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died. He was 82. Reid died Tuesday, “peacefully,” surrounded by family, “following a courageous, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer,” Landra Reid said of her husband in a statement. “Harry was a devout family man and deeply loyal friend,” she said. “We…
read moreBeijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two “close encounters” between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Tiangong, China’s new space station, had to maneuver to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and another in October, according to a note…
read moreResearchers in South Africa have discovered that people who have been infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus develop enhanced immunity to the older delta variant. The conclusion is the result of a new study conducted at Durban-based Africa Health Research Institute involving 33 vaccinated and unvaccinated people. The scientists found that immunity against…
read moreThe U.S. flu season has arrived on schedule after taking a year off, with flu hospitalizations rising and two child deaths reported. Last year’s flu season was the lowest on record, probably because COVID-19 measures — such as school closures, distancing, masks and canceled travel — prevented the spread of influenza or because the coronavirus…
read moreFor U.S. social media companies, the violent mob storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6 last year spurred action. They shut down then-President Donald Trump’s accounts. One year later, are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube any better prepared to face similar situations in the U.S. or in other countries? Michelle Quinn reports. Camera: Deana Mitchell Produced…
read morePresident Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law Monday, authorizing $768.2 billion in military spending, including a 2.7% pay raise for service members, for 2022. The NDAA authorizes a 5% increase in military spending and is the product of intense negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over issues ranging from reforms of the…
read moreWhile the COVID-19 crisis dominated headlines for a second year, the climate crisis kept intensifying. VOA’s Steve Baragona has a look back at 2021’s major events in climate change. …
read moreDoctors in Israel began administering a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Monday as part of a trial study to determine if the extra shot can boost immunity against the virus. The trial study involving about 150 staffers at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv comes just days after a special health advisory panel recommended that…
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