Someday soon, drivers entering downtown Manhattan can expect to pay for the pollution and traffic jams they cause. Congestion pricing is a way that places such as Stockholm and Singapore are trying to unclog streets and clean up their air …
The head of the Women’s Tennis Association on Wednesday voiced concern over an email it received in which Chinese professional tennis player Peng Shuai was said to deny her previous allegations of sexual assault. Peng, one of China’s biggest sport …
One of the takeaways from this year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow is that much of the world is actively planning for a world without oil and coal. But as Jessica Stone reports, some of the world’s worst polluters, at least …
Australian public health experts are making new efforts to curb the use of tobacco products, comparing its adverse effects on health to that of asbestos and lead paint. Australia has led the world on tobacco control, with plain packaging laws introduced in 2012, higher taxes and graphic public health warnings. But campaigners …
The White House says about 10% of eligible kids aged 5 to 11 have received a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine since its approval for their age group two weeks ago. At least 2.6 million kids have received a …
A Ghanian entrepreneur is helping prepare students in rural areas for the modern economy by teaching them about robotics. His roaming classes have been so successful that Ghana’s Ministry of Education has adopted the lessons in schools. Victoria Amunga reports …
With the Indian capital enveloped in a haze of toxic smog, authorities ordered six thermal plants in the city’s vicinity to shut temporarily, closed schools and colleges indefinitely and imposed work-from-home restrictions to control pollution levels that turned severe on …
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that 100,000 Americans died of drug overdose between May 2020 and April 2021 — a nearly 30% increase over the previous year. While not an official count, the CDC says it …
China has been making patriotic movies for its domestic audiences while tightening control of its film industry, developments that have left Hollywood wondering whether its movies will still be welcome in China’s lucrative market. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details. …
News outlets say the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is planning to spend $5 billion to purchase Pfizer’s new experimental antiviral pill designed to treat COVID-19, enough to cover 10 million courses of treatment. The revelation comes a day after the U.S. drugmaker announced …
The port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest, said on Tuesday that all rail access had been cut by floods and landslides farther east that killed at least one person and left two others missing. Two days of torrential rain across the …
With the Earth getting warmer and weather events more extreme, the African Union has set up a Disaster Operations Center in Nairobi to help monitor major hazards and provide regional early warnings for drought, floods, extreme rainfall, food insecurity, and …
Russian officials on Tuesday rejected accusations that they endangered astronauts aboard the International Space Station by conducting a weapons test that created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk. U.S. officials on Monday accused Russia of destroying an old satellite …
Greece and U.S. tech giant Microsoft have teamed up to digitally revive one of the ancient world’s most sacrosanct sites: the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The ambitious project uses technology to immerse viewers in the world of ancient Olympia. The collaboration between Microsoft and the Greek Culture Ministry will allow millions of visitors to immerse themselves in an experience that organizers …
Relentless rain battered Canada’s Pacific coast on Monday, forcing a town’s evacuation and trapping motorists as mudslides, rocks and debris were washed across major highways. Some 275 people, according to local media, were stuck overnight in their cars between two …
A Russian weapons test created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk that is now threatening the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station, U.S. officials said Monday. The State Department confirmed that the debris was from an old Russian …
The British government Monday announced Monday an expansion of the nation’s COVID-19 booster shot program to people ages 40 and up, to fight off a potential winter surge of the deadly disease. Until now, only British residents ages 50 and …
Pakistan rolled out a massive two-week drive Monday to immunize more than 90 million children in what officials hailed as one of the world’s biggest vaccination campaigns against measles and rubella. An official announcement said children aged between 9 months …
ith the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, or COP 26, now over, countries are looking to begin funding a global counterattack on rising temperatures on Earth. Meanwhile, scientists in Denmark are searching for clues to our warming planet’s future by …
Zambia-born novelist Wilbur Smith chronicled dramatic adventures on the African continent, creating internationally acclaimed fiction that drew on his own action-packed life. Smith died in South Africa at age 88, his publisher announced Saturday. He gained recognition in 1964 with …
Malawi has begun a mass distribution of mosquito nets, aiming to reach almost half the country’s population of 18 million people. Health authorities say the campaign is aimed at reducing the spread of malaria, which in Malawi currently accounts for …
The idea was striking in its ambition: African countries aimed to plant trees in a more than 8,000 kilometer-line spanning the entire continent, creating a natural barrier to hold back the Sahara Desert as climate change swept the sands south. …
A judge has freed Britney Spears from the conservatorship that controlled her life and money for nearly 14 years. Here’s a look at how conservatorships operate, what’s unusual about hers, and how calls from her and her fans to #FreeBritney …
Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient premium will jump by $21.60 a month in 2022, one of the largest increases ever. Officials said Friday a new Alzheimer’s drug is responsible for about half of that. The increase guarantees that health care will …