A public-private partnership aims for a dark landing on the moon. Plus, a look at why Mars is red, and a phenomenon known as a planetary parade. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
A public-private partnership aims for a dark landing on the moon. Plus, a look at why Mars is red, and a phenomenon known as a planetary parade. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — Katy Perry and Gayle King are headed to space with Jeff Bezos’ fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, and three other women. Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, announced the all-female celebrity crew on Thursday. Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, picked the crew who will join her on a 10-minute spaceflight from west … continue reading -> “Katy Perry, Gayle King to join Blue Origin spaceflight”
TOKYO — The number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low of 720,988 in 2024 for a ninth consecutive year of decline, the health ministry said on Thursday, underscoring the rapid aging and dwindling of the population. Births were down 5% on the year, despite measures in 2023 by former Prime Minister Fumio … continue reading -> “Japan’s births fell to record low in 2024”
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A private company launched another lunar lander Wednesday, aiming to get closer to the moon’s south pole this time with a drone that will hop into a black crater where the sun never shines. Intuitive Machines’ lander, named Athena, caught a lift with SpaceX from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It’s taking a … continue reading -> “Private company’s craft rockets toward moon in latest rush of lunar landing attempts”
KINSHASA, CONGO — Unidentified illnesses in northwestern Congo have killed more than 50 people over the past five weeks, nearly half of them within hours after they felt sick. The outbreaks in two distant villages in Congo’s Equateur province began on Jan. 21 and include 419 cases and 53 deaths. Health officials still do not know … continue reading -> “What we know about Congo illness that has sickened 400, killed 50”
LUBBOCK, TEXAS — A person who was hospitalized with measles has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center spokesperson Melissa Whitfield confirmed the death Wednesday. It wasn’t clear the age of the patient, who died overnight. Covenant Children’s Hospital in … continue reading -> “First measles death reported in West Texas outbreak that’s infected more than 120 people”
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will invest up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu, including increasing imports of eggs, agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday. A three-year bird flu outbreak in U.S. poultry has killed 166 million chickens since 2022, according to USDA data. The virus has also infected nearly 1,000 dairy … continue reading -> “US will spend up to $1 billion to combat bird flu, USDA secretary says”
Earth is not in danger of being hit by an asteroid in the near future, NASA and the European Space Agency said Tuesday. The proclamations from the two agencies came after an asteroid dubbed 2024 YR4, discovered in December, had scientists speculating that it could strike Earth in December 2032. Scientists now project the asteroid … continue reading -> “Newly discovered asteroid will bypass Earth”
KINSHASA, DR Congo — An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday. The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of … continue reading -> “Unknown illness kills over 50 in part of Congo with hours between symptoms and death “
BOGOTA, Colombia — An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda. That is, how to spend what’s been pledged so far — and how to raise a lot more to help preserve plant and animal … continue reading -> “Talks to protect Earth’s biodiversity resume with money topping the agenda”
LONDON — More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain’s copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce … continue reading -> “Musicians release silent album to protest UK’s AI copyright changes”
U.S. tech giant Apple has announced plans to create some 20,000 jobs and invest $500 billion over the next four years in the United States. Apple says it will expand teams and facilities in nine states across the country and that it aims to open a 23,200-square-meter server manufacturing facility in Texas in 2026. The … continue reading -> “Apple to build 23,200-square meter facility in Texas”
Sydney — Australia’s online safety regulator fined messaging platform Telegram about $640,000 on Monday for its delay in answering questions about measures the app took to prevent the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material. The eSafety Commission in March 2024 sought responses from social media platforms YouTube, X and Facebook to Telegram and Reddit, … continue reading -> “Australia fines Telegram for delay in answering child abuse, terror questions”
SUSONO — Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation. Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker’s founding family, stressed it’s not “a smart city.” “We’re making a test course for mobility so that’s a little … continue reading -> “Rich in cash, Japan automaker Toyota builds city to test futuristic mobility”
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A village in the densely populated Philippine capital region launched a battle against dengue Wednesday by offering a token bounty to residents for captured mosquitos — dead or alive. The unusual strategy adopted by the Addition Hills village in Mandaluyong City reflects growing concern after the nearby city of Quezon declared an outbreak … continue reading -> “Philippine village battles dengue by offering bounties for mosquitos — dead or alive”
CAIRO — A cholera outbreak in a southern Sudanese city killed nearly 60 people and sickened about 1,300 others over the last three days, health authorities said Saturday. The outbreak in the southern city of Kosti was blamed mainly on contaminated drinking water after the city’s water plant stopped due to an attack by a notorious … continue reading -> “Cholera kills 58, sickens 1,300 over 3 days in Sudanese city”
JABALIA, GAZA STRIP — A third mass polio vaccination campaign began in Gaza on Saturday, AFP journalists reported, with the aim of delivering the first dose to nearly 600,000 children across the Palestinian territory. Scores of children under the age of 10 received the dose at a mosque in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, where a blistering … continue reading -> “New polio vaccination drive begins in Gaza”
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 90 cases across seven counties, the state health department posted online Friday, and 16 people are hospitalized. In neighboring eastern New Mexico, the measles case count is up to nine, though state public health officials said Thursday there’s still no evidence this outbreak is connected … continue reading -> “Nearly 100 cases of measles reported in Texas, New Mexico”
PARIS — Ice loss from the world’s glaciers has accelerated over the past decade, scientists said on Wednesday, warning that melting may be faster than previously expected in the coming years and drive sea levels higher. The world’s glaciers, which are important climate regulators and hold freshwater resources for billions, are rapidly melting as the world … continue reading -> “Global glacier melt is accelerating, scientists say”
After China’s DeepSeek gained global recognition, some argue that the U.S.-China rivalry in AI may be upended. In addition, the Chinese Communist Party is actively offering to help developing countries strengthen their AI capacity building. Observers said that China is selling its AI software to targeted regions, which can challenge U.S. AI and serve as … continue reading -> “VOA Mandarin: How will China help developing countries promote AI?”
An asteroid heading toward Earth will likely miss its chance to wipe out the planet. Plus, a possible new source of fuel for future flight. And the northern lights as only seen from above. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
BRUSSELS — The European Commission said Thursday it had approved 920 million-euro of German state aid, or $960 million, to Infineon Technologies for the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Dresden. The measure will allow Infineon to complete the MEGAFAB-DD project, which will be able to produce a wide range of different types of … continue reading -> “EU approves $960 million in German aid for Infineon chips plant”
WASHINGTON — Chinese social media users are not impressed by the newly released AI model Grok 3 by Elon Musk’s xAI, retaining their preference and support for DeepSeek, the free China-made AI model that rivals leading Western competitors while costing significantly less to train. Click here for the full story in Mandarin. …
A recent study found doctors were able to detect breast cancer more often when they used artificial intelligence to help read mammogram results. As VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, AI helped boost the breast cancer detection rate by more than 17%. …
NAIROBI, KENYA — Milk and egg vendor Caroline Mukundi has lost a lot of her stock in her years of selling fresh food at a Nairobi market. Mukundi said she had no way to keep food fresh, and the cost of refrigerating was out of reach. “The food would go bad,” she said, and she would … continue reading -> “Solar refrigerators in Kenya reduce food waste”