A new report says 2020 was a record year for discovering new asteroids, particularly those with near-Earth orbits in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down a number of observatories.The report, published Thursday in the science journal Nature, says astronomers registered 2,958 previously unknown near-Earth asteroids over the course of the year, the most since…
read moreThe Philippines has gotten a measure of control over its once-runaway COVID-19 outbreak through strict lockdowns and a year of school closures, coupled with widespread use of face protectors, experts and citizens on the ground say.The Southeast Asian country known for its migratory population — Filipinos work throughout the developed world — has reported fewer…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden and the prime ministers of Japan, India, and Australia are meeting virtually Friday for a summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, where they will discuss strategies to counter China’s rising influence in the Indo-Pacific region, including an offer to match Beijing’s ambitious vaccine diplomacy.The Quad is launching a financing mechanism to…
read moreIn his first prime-time address Thursday night, President Joe Biden marked one year since widespread pandemic shutdowns began across the United States and asked Americans to help with the challenges ahead. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story. …
read moreThe largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will approach within about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) of our planet on March 21, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Thursday.The U.S. space agency said it would allow astronomers to get a rare close look at an asteroid.The asteroid, 2001 FO32, is…
read moreWhile NASA’s Mars rover roams the Red Planet searching for signs of ancient life, scientists on Earth follow clues in a Turkish lake that may hold some answers. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Camera: NASA/AP/AFP/REUTERS/SPACEXProduced by: Arash Arabasadi …
read moreWhile NASA’s Mars rover roams the Red Planet searching for signs of ancient life, scientists on Earth follow clues in a Turkish lake that may hold some answers. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Camera: NASA/AP/AFP/REUTERS/SPACEXProduced by: Arash Arabasadi …
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package into law Thursday, opening the door for the release of federal aid for financially ailing American households and businesses.Biden, a Democrat, signed the package one day after the House of Representatives approved the bill 220-211 without Republican support and one day earlier than the…
read moreFacebook has scrapped plans to connect California, Taiwan and Hong Kong via a 12,000 kilometer underwater cable, citing tensions between the U.S. and China. The social media giant told the Wall St. Journal, which broke the story, it was halting the project due to political pressure from the U.S. government, which noted potential national security…
read moreDenmark health officials announced Thursday they are suspending the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for 14 days as it investigates reports of patients developing blood clots after being inoculated. On his Twitter account, Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said authorities were looking into “signs of a possible serious side effect in the form of…
read moreFour former living U.S. presidents are appearing in a new ad campaign to encourage people to get COVID-19 vaccines.In the video produced by the Ad Council, former President Bill Clinton says, “We’ve lost enough people and we’ve suffered enough damage.”There is a photo of Clinton and his wife, Hillary, receiving their vaccines.Former President George W.…
read moreFacing a surge of migrants flocking to the border, the Biden administration is fine-tuning requirements to its proposed $4 billion aid package to Central American countries to address what it calls the “root cause of migration.”President Joe Biden’s national security adviser and coordinator for the southern border, Roberta Jacobson, said the aid would be subject…
read moreMerrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge and former Justice Department official whose 2016 nomination to the Supreme Court was blocked by Republicans, was confirmed Wednesday by the U.S. Senate as the nation’s top law enforcement official. Garland, 68, a seasoned jurist and criminal investigator, was easily confirmed as the next attorney general – one of…
read moreTop U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that current vaccination levels indicate the United States could reach pre-pandemic levels of “normal life” by late August or early September. Fauci made the comment during a virtual news briefing on herd immunity by the White House COVID-19 Response Team. Fauci…
read moreThe British Natural History Museum said it has recovered fragments of the first meteorite collected in the United Kingdom in 30 years and one of the rarest ever discovered. On the night of February 28, a fireball was seen streaking across the sky over southwestern Britain, dazzling onlookers and exciting scientists. No fragments from a…
read moreAbortion is illegal in Malawi, unless the mother’s life is at risk, but that doesn’t stop an estimated 140,000 women per year having unsafe terminations that leave 12,000 women dead and countless others permanently scarred. Despite these numbers, efforts to liberalize current abortion laws are facing resistance from conservative groups.After getting pregnant at age 17,…
read moreThe $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill awaiting final passage in the House of Representatives would bring the United States in line with many other advanced democracies around the world by providing regular, unrestricted federal payments to families with children that would cut the rate of child poverty in half.In all, 13.1 million children and adults…
read moreBehind the counter of Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, near Philadelphia, owner Mayank Amin has been working late into the night since his independent drugstore received state approval to administer COVID-19 vaccines in late January. There are thousands of emails to sort through and phone calls to field, supplies to organize, appointments to schedule. …
read moreThe U.S. House is set to pass a massive COVID-19 relief bill this week that will reshape the American economy and send billions of dollars in global health funding abroad. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on the U.S. response to the pandemic as vaccinations ramp up around the country.Camera: Adam Greenbaum …
read moreRussia’s Internet regulatory body, Roskomnadzor, announced it had slowed down Twitter’s ability to function in Russia effective Wednesday — part of what authorities said was an initial penalty for the American social media platform’s failure to delete illegal content inside the country.According to a statement posted on Roskomnadzor’s website, 100 percent of mobile devices and…
read moreThe nightly internet shutdowns in Myanmar are part of a strategy employed by many governments worldwide in times of crisis. But they come with costs. VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports. …
read moreThe first federal recommendations for people vaccinated against COVID-19 allow cautious steps toward normal life.Too cautious, critics say.The In this Jan. 27, 2021, image from video, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks during a White House briefing.Though vaccinated people are protected from severe illness, there is still a…
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