Amateur or “ham” radio operators sometimes take their two-way radios to remote locations and talk to people around the world using battery power and portable antennas. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, they are making friends and preparing for emergencies. Camera: Mike O’Sullivan …
read moreNorth Korea this week reported a mysterious “grave incident” that suggested a major lapse related to its coronavirus response.Its leader, Kim Jong Un, recently acknowledged food shortages, comparing the situation to a devastating 1990s famine.The North now acknowledges on a regular basis that it faces a worsening pandemic-related crisis, even as it continues to claim…
read moreThe German Standing Committee on Vaccination recommended this week that people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine as their first COVID shot should be inoculated with either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine for their second shot in the battle against the delta variant of the coronavirus.The panel said the immune response to the mixed dose…
read moreIndonesian police threw up roadblocks and more than 400 checkpoints on the islands of Java and Bali to ensure hundreds of millions of people stayed home on Saturday, the first day of stricter curbs on movement to limit the spread of COVID-19.As it battles one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, the world’s fourth-most-populous nation has…
read moreLife in New York City is slowly returning to normal after the coronavirus pandemic hit the city hard more than 15 months ago. But certain changes caused by the pandemic are here to stay — at least for a while. Nina Vishneva has the story, which is narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Alexander Barash …
read moreA ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies Friday, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident. The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. He said the criminals targeted a software…
read moreAs the World Health Organization draws up plans for the next phase of its probe of how the coronavirus pandemic started, an increasing number of scientists say the U.N. agency it isn’t up to the task and shouldn’t be the one to investigate.Numerous experts, some with strong ties to WHO, say that political tensions between…
read moreCOVAX, the World Health Organization initiative for the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, is urging countries to recognize as fully vaccinated all people who have received COVID-19 vaccines that COVAX has recognized as safe and effective.“Any measure that only allows people protected by a subset of WHO-approved vaccines to benefit from the re-opening of travel,”…
read moreCall it a space race for billionaires: British mogul Richard Branson one-upped rival Jeff Bezos on Thursday, announcing that he too will blast beyond Earth’s atmosphere — as many as nine days ahead of the Amazon founder.With both tycoons having created space tourism companies and positioned themselves as leaders in the suborbital-flights-for-the-wealthy sector, the move…
read moreWomen make up 60% of the White House staff appointed by President Joe Biden, while people from racially or ethnically diverse communities account for 44%, the White House said Thursday as it released an annual personnel report to Congress. The White House said the report — which includes the names, titles and salaries of all political…
read morePrivate space operations continue to expand. Plus, Europe’s space agency continues its quest for diversity, and a French astronaut makes good — sort of — on a promise to his crewmates. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
read moreAs part of a cyberespionage operation targeting Central Asian countries, Chinese hackers recently sought to breach the computer networks of Afghanistan’s National Security Council, researchers at cybersecurity firm Check Point reported.The alleged attack by the Chinese-speaking hacking group known to cybersecurity experts as IndigoZebra is the latest in an operation that goes back as far…
read moreThe South African pharmaceutical company Aspen has begun production of hundreds of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine for African countries. To speed up the process, the company is getting a large funding boost from the U.S. government. Speaking during a virtual press briefing Thursday, Mark Marchick, a top executive for the U.S. International…
read moreThe World Health Organization says the recent decline in the number of new coronavirus infections throughout Europe “has come to an end.”Hans Kluge, the director of the U.N. health agency’s Europe region, said Thursday during a news briefing in Copenhagen that the number of cases in the area’s 53 countries rose 10 percent last week. Kluge…
read moreAmid rising caseloads of coronavirus infections as it emerges from a strict COVID lockdown, Cambodia is pinning its hopes on a vaccination rollout that will help the nation reach herd immunity, even as the nation confronts unique challenges that could hamper that effort.Daily case numbers reached a record high of 1,130 Wednesday, far more than…
read moreAfter months of disagreement, the U.S. House is set to vote on a select committee to investigate the events of Jan. 6, when supporters of former President Donald Trump rioted at the U.S. Capitol. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. …
read moreSeveral countries have imposed restrictions on travelers from Britain amid rising cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus. Scientists say the delta mutation is more infectious and now makes up around 95 percent of new cases in Britain. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …
read moreZimbabwe’s new COVID-19 lockdown includes a curfew, a ban on intercity travel, and a vaccination blitz aimed at border towns and vendors. But vendors and rights activists say the government should make more vaccine available instead of tightening regulations.President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the new measures, including a 6:30 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew, on national television Tuesday. He…
read moreDonald Rumsfeld, a forceful U.S. defense secretary who was the main architect of the Iraq war until President George W. Bush replaced him as the United States found itself bogged down after 3.5 years of fighting, has died at age 88, his family said in a statement on Wednesday.”It is with deep sadness that we…
read moreThe House of Representatives is poised Wednesday to create a select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump as lawmakers were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in last November’s election. The vote, formalizing creation of the committee that House…
read moreBangladesh starts its most severe lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday with people allowed to leave their homes only in emergencies and soldiers set to patrol the streets to enforce it, as the nation faces a deadly resurgence of COVID-19 infections.The government announced the new measures as the coronavirus surged in recent days, particularly in…
read moreFederal law enforcement agencies secretly seek the data of Microsoft customers thousands of times a year, according to congressional testimony Wednesday by a senior executive at the technology company.Tom Burt, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for customer security and trust, told members of the House Judiciary Committee that federal law enforcement in recent years has been…
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