The COVID-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu, the World Health Organization said Friday. The WHO voiced confidence that it will be able to declare an end to the emergency sometime in 2023, saying it was increasingly hopeful about the pandemic phase of the … continue reading -> “WHO Sees COVID Posing Similar Threat to Flu This Year”
The Southern Nevada Water Authority on Thursday voted to accept a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to fund cloud seeding in other Western states whose rivers feed the parched desert region. The weather modification method uses planes and ground-based cannons to shoot silver iodide crystals into clouds, attracting moisture to the … continue reading -> “US Government Spends $2.4M on Cloud Seeding for Colorado River”
U.S. former officials and experts are urging greater efforts to thwart Chinese espionage, which many believe has enabled Beijing to develop a range of advanced weaponry on the back of stolen American technology. James Anderson, a former acting undersecretary of defense for policy, said China stole U.S. military technology for developing its J-20 fighter jet … continue reading -> “US Experts Urge More Efforts to Thwart China’s Acquisition of US Military Technology “
Health officials in Tanzania are investigating an illness that killed five people in the country’s northwest with Ebola-like symptoms, raising fears that it could be the deadly virus. Tanzania’s Ministry of Health late Thursday issued a statement saying seven people in northwest Kagera region showed symptoms such as fever, vomiting, bleeding and kidney failure. The … continue reading -> “Unidentified Illness Kills Five in Tanzania, Sparks Ebola Fears”
The Biden administration has demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a possible U.S. ban, the company told Reuters this week. The move follows the introduction of a new U.S. legislation that would allow the White House to ban TikTok or other foreign-based technologies if they pose … continue reading -> “Nations Crack Down on TikTok”
Mozambique’s health minister said Friday a cholera outbreak in the area hit by Cyclone Freddy killed eight people this week and hospitalized 250 – part of 600 sickened since the record storm made landfall in February. Health Minister Armindo Tiago told state-run Radio Mozambique the cholera victims were in the port city of Quelimane, capital … continue reading -> “Cholera Kills 8 in Cyclone-Hit Mozambique, Sickens Hundreds”
New Zealand said on Friday it would ban TikTok on devices with access to the country’s parliamentary network due to cybersecurity concerns, becoming the latest nation to limit the use of the video-sharing app on government-related devices. Concerns have mounted globally about the potential for the Chinese government to access users’ location and contact data … continue reading -> “New Zealand to Ban TikTok on Devices Linked to Parliament”
Lack of access to clean drinking water is being exacerbated by climate change. In fact, less than 1% of the world’s water is fresh and accessible, according to Melissa Ho, senior vice president of freshwater and food at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “Although we see water all around the planet, we do not necessarily … continue reading -> “Water Experts Look to Change Attitudes, Policies”
Time may be running out in the U.S. for Chinese-owned entertainment platform TikTok, with the White House on Thursday supporting proposed legislation that would effectively ban the app over concerns about the safety of the data of the 100 million Americans who use the trendy video platform. “The bottom line is that when it comes … continue reading -> “White House Voices Support for Bipartisan Push to Ban TikTok”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a number of improvements in access to mental health care on Thursday to reduce suicides in the military but held off on endorsing more controversial recommendations to restrict gun and ammunition purchases by young troops, sending them to another panel for study. An independent committee in late February recommended … continue reading -> “US Military Moves to Cut Suicides, But Defers Action on Guns”
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 23. Lawmakers have questions about the app’s connections to China. For VOA, Deana Mitchell reports. …
Microsoft on Thursday trumpeted its latest plans to put artificial intelligence into the hands of more users, answering a spate of unveilings this week by its rival Google with upgrades to its own widely used office software. The company previewed a new AI “copilot” for Microsoft 365, its product suite that includes Word documents, Excel … continue reading -> “Microsoft Unveils AI for Its Office Suite in Increased Competition With Google”
Britain said on Thursday it would ban TikTok on government phones with immediate effect, a move that follows other Western countries in barring the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny due to fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up in the … continue reading -> “UK Bans TikTok on Government Phones Over Security Concerns”
TikTok confirmed Wednesday that U.S. officials have recommended the popular video-sharing app part ways with its Chinese parent ByteDance to avoid a national ban. Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, have been taking an increasingly tough approach to the app, citing fears that user data could be used or abused by … continue reading -> “TikTok Confirms US Urged Parting Ways With ByteDance to Dodge Ban”
Moonwalking astronauts will have sleeker, more flexible spacesuits that come in different sizes when they step onto the lunar surface later this decade. Exactly what that looks like remained under wraps. The company designing the next-generation spacesuits, Axiom Space, said Wednesday that it plans to have new versions for training purposes for NASA later this … continue reading -> “Future NASA Moonwalkers to Sport Sleeker Spacesuits”
For the first time, scientists have created baby mice from two males. This raises the distant possibility of using the same technique for people — although experts caution that very few mouse embryos developed into live mouse pups, and no one knows whether it would work for humans. Still, “It’s a very clever strategy,” said … continue reading -> “Scientists Create Mice With Cells From 2 Males for First Time”
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses, truck drivers, grocery clerks and other essential workers were hailed as heroes. “Now we are vilifying them … and this has long-term ramifications for our well-being,” said Manuela Tomei, International Labor Organization assistant director-general for governance, rights, and dialogue. “The work that these persons perform is … continue reading -> “UN Labor Agency: Key COVID-19 Workers Undervalued, Underpaid, Abused”
Every month, young girls in Ghana are forced to miss school days due to menstruation. But a schoolteacher is working to find a solution by providing reusable sanitary pads. Hamza Adams visited a school in Afari, Ghana, and has this story narrated by Salem Solomon. …
The Webb Space Telescope has captured the rare and fleeting phase of a star on the cusp of death. NASA released the picture Tuesday at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. The observation was among the first made by Webb following its launch in late 2021. Its infrared eyes observed all the gas … continue reading -> “NASA Webb Telescope Captures Star on Cusp of Death”
From 5G infrastructure to mobile phones and more, Chinese technologies are used in many parts of the world. It’s part of China’s Digital Silk Road initiative, which is getting mixed reviews: welcomed by some countries, while others are assessing the potential risks of Chinese technology. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee explains. Camera: Henry Ridgwell, Adam Greenbaum …
Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it would cut 10,000 jobs, just four months after it let go 11,000 employees, the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs. “We expect to reduce our team size by around 10,000 people and to close around 5,000 additional open roles that we haven’t … continue reading -> “Facebook-Parent Meta to Lay Off 10,000 Employees in Second Round of Job Cuts “
Illegal fishing, a multibillion-dollar industry closely linked to organized crime, is set to pose a greater threat to global security as climate change warms the world’s oceans, according to a report by the Royal United Services Institute, a research organization based in London, in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trust. Illegal, unreported and unregulated, or … continue reading -> “Warming Oceans Exacerbate Security Threat of Illegal Fishing, Report Warns”
Poorer countries are increasingly losing health care workers to wealthier ones as the latter seek to shore up their own staff losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes through active recruitment, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The trend for nurses and other staff to leave parts of Africa or Southeast Asia for better opportunities … continue reading -> “Exodus of Health Care Workers From Poor Countries Worsening, WHO Says”
Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse rattled the technology industry that had been the bank’s backbone, leaving shell-shocked entrepreneurs thankful for the government reprieve that saved their money while they mourned the loss of a place that served as a chummy club of innovation. “They were the gold standard, it almost seemed weird if you were in … continue reading -> “Silicon Valley Bank’s Demise Disrupts the Disruptors in Tech”
Boeing structural analysis engineer George Ndayizeye, who grew up in Burundi, has won a 2023 Black Engineer of the Year Legacy Award. He spoke with VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya outside Seattle. …