Authorities in Botswana are reporting increased thefts of lithium batteries from mobile phone towers amid a surge in global demand for the battery in electric vehicles. The southern African nation’s biggest mobile network operator says it has lost more than $100,000 worth of lithium batteries in the past week alone. Botswana police spokesperson Diteko Motube … continue reading -> “Botswana Records Surge in Lithium Batteries Theft as Global Demand Soars”
NASA’s Webb Space Telescope is finding bright, early galaxies that until now were hidden from view, including one that may have formed a mere 350 million years after the cosmic-creating Big Bang. Astronomers said Thursday that if the results are verified, this newly discovered throng of stars would beat the most distant galaxy identified by … continue reading -> “Webb Space Telescope Spots Early Galaxies Hidden from Hubble”
A global wildlife summit in Panama took an important step Thursday toward upgrading protection for sharks, the ancient ocean vertebrates targeted for their fins used in a status-symbol soup. A committee voted to approve a proposal to include requiem and hammerhead sharks on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). … continue reading -> “Sharks Move Closer to More Protections as Wildlife Summit Takes Action”
Malawi is struggling to contain one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years. It has spread nationwide, killing more than 250 people and infecting more than 8,000. Authorities and aid groups have stepped up cholera vaccination and hygiene campaigns, as Lameck Masina reports from Blantyre, Malawi. …
NASA once again makes moonshot history. Plus, the space agency’s astronauts take a stroll, and a piece of tragic space history found by accident. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
Uganda’s tourism sector is once again being hit by effects from a deadly disease. In 2021, it was the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, it’s the Ebola outbreak, with 141 confirmed cases and 55 deaths. President Yoweri Museveni said Tuesday in his address to Ugandans that he had been informed that tourists are canceling trips … continue reading -> “Tourists Canceling Trips to Uganda Over Ebola Fears”
Taiwan’s envoy to a gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders is the 91-year-old billionaire founder of a computer chip manufacturing giant that operated behind the scenes for decades before being thrust into the center of U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and security. Morris Chang’s hybrid role highlights the clash between Taiwan’s status as one of China’s top tech … continue reading -> “Taiwan’s APEC Envoy at the Center of Processor Chip Tension”
With Twitter’s human rights team eliminated, legal experts voice alarm about what it could mean for users around the world. Tina Trinh reports. Camera: Daniel Brody. …
Heavy rains behind floods that killed more than 600 people in Nigeria this year were about 80 times likelier because of human-induced climate change, scientists reported Wednesday. The floods mainly struck Nigeria but also Niger, Chad and neighboring countries, displacing more than 1.4 million people and devastating homes and farmland in a region already vulnerable … continue reading -> “Climate Change Fueled Rains Behind Deadly Nigeria Floods, Study Finds”
After mechanical issues and inclement weather forced a series of delays, NASA’s Artemis 1 mission to the moon finally took off from Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday morning. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Florida. Camera: Adam Greenbaum …
NASA’s new Artemis moon rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its debut flight with three test dummies aboard early Wednesday. The launch brings the United States a big step closer to putting astronauts back on the lunar surface for the first time since the end of the Apollo program 50 … continue reading -> “NASA’s New Moon Rocket Blasts Off”
Chinese authorities locked down a major university in Beijing on Wednesday after finding one COVID-19 case as they stick to a “zero-COVID” approach despite growing public discontent. Peking University students and faculty were not allowed to leave the grounds unless necessary and classes on the main campus — where the case was found — were … continue reading -> “In ‘Zero-COVID’ China, 1 Case Locks Down Peking University”
NASA is kicking off its new moon program with a test flight of a brand-new rocket and capsule. Liftoff was slated for early Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test flight aims to send an empty crew capsule into a far-flung lunar orbit, 50 years after NASA’s famed Apollo moonshots. The project is … continue reading -> “EXPLAINER: Nasa’s New Mega Moon Rocket, Orion Crew Capsule”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday that the bureau has “national security concerns” about popular short-form video hosting app TikTok as the Chinese-owned company seeks U.S. government approval to continue operating in the country. Speaking during a U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee hearing on “worldwide threats to the homeland,” Wray said the … continue reading -> “FBI Says It has ‘National Security Concerns’ About TikTok”
The world’s population is projected to hit an estimated 8 billion people on Tuesday, according to a United Nations projection, with much of the growth coming from developing nations in Africa. Among them is Nigeria, where resources are already stretched to the limit. More than 15 million people in Lagos compete for everything from electricity … continue reading -> “World Population Hits 8 Billion, Creating Many Challenges”
Malaria exploded this year in the Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa, which saw more than 10 times as many cases between January and May as it did in all of 2019. What made this spike in cases unusual is that it happened outside the rainy season, when malaria typically surges across Africa, and in an … continue reading -> “Invasive Mosquito Threatens Malaria Control in Africa”
Search giant Google has agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states to resolve an investigation into how the company tracked users’ locations, state attorneys general announced Monday. The states’ investigation was sparked by a 2018 Associated Press story, which found that Google continued to track people’s location data even after they opted out … continue reading -> “40 States Settle Google Location-tracking Charges for $392 Million”
It’s not easy being Elon Musk. That was the message the new Twitter owner and billionaire head of Tesla and SpaceX had for younger people who might seek to emulate his entrepreneurial success. “Be careful what you wish for,” Musk told a business forum in Bali on Monday when asked what an up-and-coming “Elon Musk … continue reading -> “Musk Touches on Twitter Criticism, Workload at G20 Forum”
Several Chinese cities began cutting routine community COVID-19 testing on Monday, days after China announced an easing of some of its heavy-handed coronavirus measures, sparking worry in some communities as nationwide cases continued to rise. In the northern city of Shijiazhuang, some families expressed concern about exposing their children to the virus at school, giving … continue reading -> “New China COVID Rules Spur Concern as Some Cities Halt Routine Tests”
Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk is further gutting the teams that battle misinformation on the social media platform as outsourced moderators learned over the weekend they were out of a job. Twitter and other big social media firms have relied heavily on contractors to track hate and enforce rules against harmful content. But many of … continue reading -> “Musk’s Latest Twitter Cuts: Outsourced Content Moderators”
An unmanned U.S. military space plane landed early Saturday after spending a record 908 days in orbit for its sixth mission and conducting science experiments. The solar-powered vehicle, which looks like a miniature space shuttle, landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Its previous mission lasted 780 days. “Since the X-37B’s first launch in 2010, it … continue reading -> “Unmanned, Solar-powered US Space Plane Back After 908 Days”
Australian researchers have identified 1,500 additional locations across the country that could be used as pumped storage hydropower facilities. They have said it should reduce Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels. Academics at the Australian National University have said pumped storage hydropower is a “low-cost, mass storage option” that could help Australia reach its emissions reduction … continue reading -> “Researchers Identify More Potential Hydro Energy Storage Sites “
The 10 women gathered on yoga mats in a New Orleans suburb, the lights dimmed. “I’d like to invite you to close your eyes,” instructor Stephanie Osborne said in a soothing voice from the front of the room. The only other noises were the hum of the air conditioner and the distant sounds of children … continue reading -> “After Hurricanes, Program Aims to Help Alleviate Stress”
As Ugandan farmer Bonaventura Senyonga prepares to bury his grandson, age-old traditions are forgotten and fear hangs in the air while a government medical team prepares the body for the funeral — the latest victim of Ebola in the East African nation. Bidding the dead goodbye is rarely a quiet affair in Uganda, where the … continue reading -> “‘Death Every Day’: Fear and Fortitude in Uganda’s Ebola Epicenter”
The U.N. climate talks in Egypt have reached the halfway mark, with negotiators still working on draft agreements before ministers arrive next week to push for a substantial deal to fight climate change. The two-week meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh started with strong appeals from world leaders for greater efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and … continue reading -> “UN Climate Talks Reach Halftime with Key Issues Unresolved”