Devastating floods in South Africa this week, as well as other extreme weather events across the continent linked to human-caused climate change, are putting marine and terrestrial wildlife species at risk, according to biodiversity experts. Africa has already faced several climate-related woes in the past year: the ongoing fatal floods follow unrelenting cyclones in the…
read moreMost Americans support a flexible approach to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, with cities reimposing mask mandates when cases surge, even as a growing number are eager to get on with their lives, a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Friday found. The results of the two-day poll illustrate the balancing act facing U.S. officials as they navigate a…
read moreEnvironmentally, the planet was on a downward slide well before the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution designating April 22 in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day. The aim of this day is to celebrate the wonders of Mother Earth. The day also is meant to shed light on the issues threatening the health of…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden has chosen Earth Day on Friday to sign an executive order to protect some of the country’s largest and oldest trees. The order the president is scheduled to sign in Washington State will require the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service to identify threats to…
read moreAustralia’s most populous states will on Friday abolish a raft of coronavirus rules, including compulsory isolation for close contacts. Some vaccine mandates for key workers will also be scrapped. Health officials in New South Wales and Victoria say the overhaul to the rules is a “big step” and is part of a plan to “co-exist…
read moreEvery year on Earth Day — April 22 — people come together to raise awareness about environmental problems. And this year they will focus on accelerating the transition to a prosperous green economy. During the event, also known as International Mother Earth Day, some 1 billion people in 190 countries take part in…
read moreA U.K. patient with a severely weakened immune system had COVID-19 for almost a year and a half, scientists reported, underscoring the importance of protecting vulnerable people from the coronavirus. There’s no way to know for sure whether it was the longest-lasting COVID-19 infection because not everyone gets tested, especially on a regular basis like…
read morePresident Joe Biden opened a two-day visit to the Pacific Northwest by focusing on improvements planned for the runway and roof of the airport where he landed Thursday, rather than any of the region’s traditional, natural attractions. Portland International Airport lies on a tectonic plate fault line, but crews are working on a series of…
read moreScientists have successfully bred a threatened species of coral as part of a project that hopes to restore damaged reefs off the coast of Florida that are under threat by a relatively new disease, a coral rescue organization said on Thursday. Reefs in Florida and the Caribbean are facing growing threat of destruction by the…
read moreAlso, Russian cosmonauts put in work at the International Space Station. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi wraps up The Week in Space. …
read moreAccording to papers filed with U.S. securities regulators, billionaire Elon Musk appears ready to continue his bid to take over Twitter, this time via a tender offer that would bypass the company’s board and offer to buy stock directly from shareholders. Twitter’s board of directors last week voted unanimously to use a tactic called a…
read moreClosing the economic divide in the hard-hit industrial Midwestern United States could dampen the fervor of anti-democratic populism, a new working paper suggests. Populism is ascribed to political movements that embrace an us-versus-them mentality. Battles are often fought along socioeconomic, ethnic or communal lines. “When communities are in decline, when residents are anxious about their…
read moreFarmers across the country and around the world might one day leave the confines of their tractor cabs and operate autonomous tractors remotely through an app. But will farmers, big and small, be willing to trust the technology? VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. …
read morePalestinian militants fired a rocket into southern Israel for the first time in months on Monday, in another escalation after clashes at a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem, a series of deadly attacks inside Israel and military raids across the occupied West Bank. Israel said it intercepted the rocket, and there were no immediate reports…
read moreThe flight debut of NASA’s mega moon rocket faces additional delays following a string of failed fueling tests. Officials said Monday it will be challenging to meet a launch window in early to mid-June. The next opportunity to send an empty capsule to the moon on a test flight would be at the end of…
read moreA group of Tesla shareholders suing CEO Elon Musk over some 2018 tweets about taking the company private is asking a federal judge to order Musk to stop commenting on the case. Lawyers for stockholders of the Austin, Texas-based company also say in court documents that the judge in the case has ruled that Musk’s…
read moreA classified satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office was launched into space from California on Sunday. The NROL-85 satellite lifted off at 6:13 a.m. local time from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It was the first mission by the NRO to reuse a SpaceX rocket booster, Vandenberg said…
read moreRussia is clamping down on news and the internet. Overseas media organizations and activists are finding new ways in. …
read moreThree Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after six months aboard their country’s newest orbital station in the longest crewed mission to date for China’s ambitious space program. The Shenzhou 13 space capsule landed in the Gobi desert in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, shown live on state TV. During the mission, astronaut…
read moreEven before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials warned about cyberattacks originating in Russia against critical American infrastructure. Now, U.S. security agencies are increasingly cracking down on the networks used by cybercriminals, including for ransomware attacks. Dino Jahic has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …
read moreTwitter’s board of directors on Friday voted unanimously to use a tactic called a “poison pill” to fend off Elon Musk’s attempt to take over the company. In such a defensive tactic, all Twitter shareholders except Musk could buy more shares at a discount. This would dilute the world’s richest person’s stake in the company…
read moreThe World Health Organization says a variety of crises are adversely impacting the health of millions and blocking needed humanitarian aid in war-torn hotspots around the world. War, climate disasters, and COVID-19 are threatening global health and undermining the capacity to build and maintain economically viable and stable societies. These multiple crises are most pronounced…
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