A trip that should have lasted just over a week spirals into a roughly eight-month adventure. Plus, a pioneering teacher memorialized in bronze. And a robot proves its purpose by picking up pebbles. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
Despite global efforts to stop the practice of female genital mutilation, the harmful tradition continues to affect the lives and health of millions of women and girls in Somalia. Reporter Najib Ahmed has this story from the capital, Mogadishu, narrated by Anthony LaBruto. (Camera and Produced by: Abdulkadir Zuber) …
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Brussels — Elon Musk’s woes are hardly limited to Brazil as he now risks possible EU sanctions in the coming months for allegedly breaking new content rules. Access to X has been suspended in South America’s largest country since Saturday after a long-running legal battle over disinformation ended with a judge ordering a shutdown. But Brazil … continue reading -> “Like Brazil, the European Union also has an X problem”
Kinshasa, Congo — The first delivery of almost 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines will arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, the African Union’s health watchdog said. The vast central Africa country of around 100 million people is at the epicenter of the mpox outbreak, with cases and deaths rising. “We are very pleased … continue reading -> “First mpox vaccines due in DR Congo on Thursday”
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Boeing will attempt to return its problem-plagued capsule from the International Space Station later this week — with empty seats. NASA said Wednesday that everything is on track for the Starliner capsule to undock from the space station Friday evening. The fully automated capsule will aim for a touchdown in New Mexico’s … continue reading -> “Empty capsule to return to Earth soon; 2 astronauts will stay behind”
SAO PAULO, brazil — Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service provider Starlink backtracked Tuesday and said it will comply with a Brazilian Supreme Court justice’s order to block the billionaire’s social media platform, X. In a statement posted on X, Starlink said it will heed Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ order despite him having frozen the company’s assets. … continue reading -> “Musk’s Starlink will comply with judge’s order to block X in Brazil”
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SYDNEY — Global concerns over plastic pollution and cuts to fossil fuel use are behind a new Australian-led initiative to develop a new generation of 100 percent compostable plastic. Experts estimate that more than 170 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in the world’s oceans. There are growing concerns about the impact of micro-plastics on health … continue reading -> “Australian researchers plan new generation of biodegradable plastic”
RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian Supreme Court panel on Monday unanimously upheld the decision of one of its justices to block billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X nationwide, according to the court’s website. The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an … continue reading -> “Brazil Supreme Court panel upholds judge’s decision to block X nationwide”
LONDON — The growing mpox outbreaks in Africa that triggered the World Health Organization’s emergency declaration are largely the result of decades of neglect and the global community’s inability to stop sporadic epidemics among a population with little immunity against the smallpox-related disease, leading African scientists said Tuesday. According to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, who chaired WHO’s … continue reading -> “Experts blame Africa’s mpox outbreaks on neglect, world’s inability to stop epidemics”
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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on … continue reading -> “Health authorities begin large-scale polio vaccinations in war-ravaged Gaza”
LOS ANGELES — Engineers who specialize in building NASA spacecraft to explore distant worlds are designing a fleet of underwater robot probes to measure how rapidly climate change is melting vast ice sheets around Antarctica and what that means for rising sea levels. A prototype of the submersible vehicles, under development by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory … continue reading -> “Rocket scientists build robot probes to gauge melting beneath Antarctic ice shelf”
PATERZELL, Germany — How do you teach a bird how, and where, to fly? The distinctive northern bald ibis, hunted essentially to extinction by the 17th century, was revived by breeding and rewilding efforts over the last two decades. But the birds — known for their distinctive black-and-iridescent green plumage, bald red head and long curved … continue reading -> “Bird species extinct in Europe returns, and humans must help it migrate”
MANILA, Philippines — A Vietnamese doctor who has helped seek justice for victims of the powerful defoliant dioxin “Agent Orange” used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War is among this year’s winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards — regarded as Asia’s version of the Nobel Prizes. Other winners announced on Saturday were a group of … continue reading -> “Doctor who helped Agent Orange victims wins Magsaysay Award”
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ABUJA, Nigeria — Weeks of flooding have killed 185 people in Nigeria and washed away homes and farmlands, the country’s disaster management agency said, further threatening food supplies, especially in the hard-hit northern region. The floods, blamed on poor infrastructure and badly maintained dams, have displaced 208,000 people in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states, the National … continue reading -> “Floods in Nigeria kill scores, wash away farmland, raise hunger concerns”
Brasilia, Brazil — A block on Elon Musk’s X social network in Brazil started to take effect early Saturday after a Supreme Court judge ordered its suspension, according to AFP. Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the suspension of the platform following a monthslong standoff with the tech billionaire over disinformation in … continue reading -> “Brazil’s block on X comes into effect after judge’s order”
LONDON — Polio was eliminated from most parts of the world as part of a decadeslong effort by the World Health Organization and partners to wipe out the disease. But polio is one of the world’s most infectious diseases and is still spreading in a small number of countries. The WHO and its partners want to … continue reading -> “Wasn’t polio wiped out? Why it is still a problem in some countries”
geneva — The head of the World Health Organization believes mpox outbreaks in Africa might be stopped in the next six months, and he said Friday that the agency’s first shipment of vaccines should arrive in Congo within days. To date, Africa has received a small fraction of the vaccines needed to slow the spread of … continue reading -> “Africa’s mpox outbreaks could be stopped in 6 months, WHO chief says”
China’s naval hospital ship, called the Peace Ark, is on a 13-nation tour of mostly African countries to provide free health care for locals. Over the past week, it was docked off the South African coast where the Western Cape province has a backlog of about 80,000 surgeries. Vicky Stark reports. …
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