The head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, is again threatening to end service to the International Space Station, saying Russia will stop supplying rocket engines to the United States and may curtail cooperation on the station in retaliation for Western sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. NASA says operations on the orbiting observatory…
read moreSoftware giant Microsoft announced Friday that it is suspending “all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia” over that country’s invasion of Ukraine. “Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful…
read moreThe U.N. children’s agency says it is procuring nearly seven million doses of polio vaccine to inoculate children in Malawi. The action follows a confirmed polio case last month in Malawi’s capital, the first reported in Africa in five years and the first in Malawi in decades. Malawi had last reported a polio case…
read moreEven before Russian forces shelled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, sparking a fire in a nearby building early Friday, Ukraine’s main nuclear regulatory agency had sought “immediate assistance” from the international nuclear agency. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Wednesday he had received a letter from the State Nuclear Regulatory…
read morePresident Joe Biden’s announcement that the U.S. would go after Russian oligarchs and close U.S. airspace to Russian planes in response to the Ukraine invasion drew Democrats’ praise, but some Republican lawmakers want even tougher action. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. …
read moreAs Russia continues to wage war on neighboring Ukraine, a former commander of the International Space Station is in disbelief over Russian threats to destroy the decades-long partnership aboard the ISS. Plus, Elon Musk sends a communications lifeline to Ukrainians, and a joint mission to Mars is now in doubt. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us…
read moreThe United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) marked its 50-year anniversary Thursday at its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Activists have criticized the organization as being slow to address global threats to the environment, such as pollution and climate change. But at the U.N.’s Environment Assembly this week over 100 nations pledged to negotiate a binding treaty…
read moreThe United Nations Environment Assembly, meeting in Nairobi, has adopted a resolution detailing what to do about plastic pollution. It calls for two years of negotiations toward a comprehensive, international treaty on the full life cycle of plastics. Delegates from 175 countries endorsed an agreement Wednesday that addresses plastic waste. The United Nations says 400…
read moreAfter almost two years, Western Australia has lifted the nation’s toughest COVID-19 border controls. Double-vaccinated international and domestic travelers are now allowed in, as the so-called hermit state reconnects with the rest of the world. For almost 700 days Western Australia was cut off from the rest of the country and the world. Most international…
read moreA Texas judge on Wednesday blocked the state from investigating the parents of a transgender teenager over gender-confirmation treatments but stopped short of preventing the state from looking into other reports about children receiving similar care. District Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued a temporary order halting the investigation by the Department of Family and Protective…
read moreThe moon is about to get walloped by nearly 3 metric tons of space junk, a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several semitrailer trucks. The leftover chunk of a rocket will smash into the far side of the moon at 9,300 kph (5,800 mph) on Friday, away from telescopes’ prying…
read moreBack at work this week following a holiday recess, U.S. lawmakers are feeling the pressure to agree on legislation sanctioning Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. While Democratic lawmakers praised the executive actions taken by U.S. President Joe Biden to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for bombarding the independent Eastern Europe nation, some Republicans…
read moreA consortium of U.S. states announced on Wednesday a joint investigation into TikTok’s possible harm to young users of the platform, which has boomed in popularity, especially among children. Officials across the United States have launched their own investigations and lawsuits against Big Tech giants as new national regulations have failed to pass, partly because…
read moreAS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Justices of the Supreme Court. My fellow Americans. Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we are finally together again. Tonight, we meet as Democrats Republicans and Independents. But most importantly as…
read moreTexas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott easily bested a group of conservative challengers to lock up his party’s nomination Tuesday and will face Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the November general election. O’Rourke, who nearly ousted Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, will get the chance to try for an even bigger upset in November. He’ll be…
read moreSome of America’s best-known companies including Apple, Google, Ford, Harley-Davidson and Exxon Mobil rebuked and rejected Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, under steady pressure from investors and consumers decrying the violence. Late Tuesday, Apple said it had stopped sales of iPhones and other products in Russia, adding that it was making changes to its…
read moreAvalanche forecasters use a slew of technology to predict avalanche risk and help lovers of backcountry winter sports to be prepared. From Boulder Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports. Video editors – Shelley Schlender, Luis Da Costa. …
read moreAs Russia’s war in Ukraine plays out for the world on social media, big tech platforms are moving to restrict Russian state media from using their platforms to spread propaganda and misinformation. Google announced Tuesday that it’s blocking the YouTube channels of those outlets in Europe “effective immediately” but acknowledged “it’ll take time for our…
read moreA leading cybersecurity firm says it has discovered a “highly sophisticated” piece of malware being used by Chinese hacking teams to attack government and critical infrastructure targets. Symantec, a division of U.S.-based software designer and manufacturer Broadcom, said the earliest known sample of the malware, which has been dubbed Daxin, dates back to 2013, while…
read moreThe Justice Department launched one of the largest and most complex criminal investigations in its history after a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol over a year ago. Now it’s time for a jury to hear some of the government’s evidence about the unparalleled attack on American democracy. The first trial for…
read moreAn expert group of 270 climate scientists warns the dire impacts of climate change soon will be irreversible unless governments act decisively to tackle these imminent global threats. Hoesung Lee, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, does not mince words. He said the stakes of our planet have never been higher. “Human activities…
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