The east-central African nation of Rwanda began its COVID-19 vaccination program Friday, using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, making it the first African nation to administer the drug. The nation received 102,960 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 240,000 doses of AstraZeneca through the international …
A U.S. and a Japanese astronaut ventured out of the International Space Station (ISS) Friday, in the second of two spacewalks conducted this week to complete upgrades and repairs to the orbiting outpost. NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins and …
U.S. President Joe Biden’s order to secure semiconductor supply chains for high-tech hardware production offers a commercial boost to Taiwan, one of the world’s biggest providers of chips, and gives Taipei new weight in any free-trade talks, analysts say.Biden signed …
A Wall Street Journal report says World Health Organization investigators who recently visited China to determine the origins of the emergence of the COVID-19 virus will not release a promised interim report of their findings.The Journal account, published Thursday, said …
This week a U.S.-government backed commission of technology experts completed a three-year review of the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities, urging the development of a new national technology strategy to stay competitive with China.The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) …
Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people’s willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday.Co-led by Imperial College London’s …
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station this week built the bones for much-needed power upgrades. Also, SpaceX took flight with and without success, and flaming space junk lights up Australian skies. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. …
Women’s rights activists in Kenya have welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s order revoking the ban blocking U.S. funding to women’s health organizations that provide abortion or abortion-related services. Critics say the so-called gag rule left women uninformed about safe options …
A lot of food is wasted around the world, and the United Nations says it needs better data to determine just how much. Citing the environmental impact of food production, the U.N. says understanding the scope of food …
The World Health Organization’s Europe director reported Thursday that new COVID-19 cases rose 9% to just over a million in the region last week. Hans Kluge said it was the first increase in new infections after six weeks …
The World Health Organization says COVID-19 vaccine distribution in African countries is accelerating and hopeful signs are emerging that a significant proportion of Africa’s population will be covered by the end of the year. Latest figures put the number of …
Prince Philip has had a successful heart procedure at a London hospital and is expected to remain for several days of “rest and recuperation,” Buckingham Palace said Thursday. The palace said the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II “underwent a …
Nearly 50 countries have either received or ordered at least one of the three Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines, according to an Associated Press survey. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo on the vaccine rollouts. …
U.S. President Joe Biden, while expressing frustration, has limited power to overrule decisions by state governors who are ending mask mandates and lifting other restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.”I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden told a small group of …
An international advocacy group’s claim that the Vietnamese government has tapped hackers to target activists shows that the communist Southeast Asian state is widening the use of technology to quash its biggest opponents, experts believe. Ocean Lotus, a shadowy group suspected …
The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday “now is not the time” to lift COVID-19 restrictions, one day after the governor of Texas announced the southern U.S. state was “100 percent open.” At …
The World Health Organization says one in 10 people worldwide is expected to suffer from hearing loss by 2050. But in the United States, health officials say around 20 percent of America’s adult population is already experiencing some level of …
With this past year’s city-shaking protests and quarantine closures, shops in cities across the country have been boarded up. In Seattle and other American cities, the plywood, – along with walls, sidewalks and even roads – have become a canvas …
Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19. The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in …
To mark World Hearing Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to stem the epidemic of hearing loss, which currently affects 1.5 billion people globally. A roadmap for action is contained in WHO’s first World Report on Hearing. WHO …
Merck will help its pharmaceutical competitor Johnson & Johnson make the single-shot coronavirus vaccine. That was announced on Tuesday by President Joe Biden.VOA’s White House bureau chief Steve Herman was in the room when the president also said he wants …
It’s the sort of chance that comes along just once in a blue Moon: a Japanese billionaire is throwing open a private lunar expedition to eight people from around the world. Yusaku Maezawa, an online fashion tycoon, was announced in 2018 as …
From a smart dog collar that can tell you your pet’s emotional state to toys that automatically move, the pet tech industry is growing, especially during the pandemic when many people staying at home have been adopting dogs and cats. VOA’s …
Texas is lifting its mask mandate, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, making it the largest state to no longer require one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus.The announcement in Texas, where the virus has …