WASHINGTON — Arnong Mungoei has farmed rice in Thailand’s Khon Kaen province for half a century.   Working land some 500 kilometers northeast of Bangkok never made her rich, but it provided a dependable livelihood.   But since February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, global geopolitical tensions and weather conditions elsewhere have upended the rice markets and by 2023, worldwide rice prices had exploded.   Yet Arnong said she made less than she has in years.  “The mills [that buy rice] don’t increase the price. What can I do? I bring rice there to sell. Whatever they offer us, …

Tokyo, Japan — Japan’s SLIM space probe entered the moon’s orbit Monday in a major step toward the country’s first successful lunar landing, expected next month. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is nicknamed the “Moon Sniper” because it is designed to land within 100 meters (328 feet) of a specific target on the lunar surface. If successful, the touchdown would make Japan only the fifth country to have successfully landed a probe on the moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India.   On Monday, SLIM “successfully entered …

2023 demolished temperature records worldwide. It was the hottest year on record, and some scientists say the hottest in 125,000 years. Those supercharged temperatures helped drive a series of climate disasters around the world. VOA’s Steve Baragona has a look back. …

KYIV, Ukraine — When Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, his civilian career as a surgeon was over. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he was able to continue working in health care and is now a rehab specialist helping other amputees. The 26-year-old is delighted with his sleek black robotic arm — he described it as “love at first sight” — and realizes how lucky he was to get one. “There are fewer (bionic) arms available than …

PORTLAND, Maine — Unfounded claims about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in the fight over the future of renewable energy. In recent months, conservatives including former President Donald Trump have claimed construction of offshore wind turbines is killing the giant animals. Scientists say there is no credible evidence linking offshore wind farms to whale deaths. But that hasn’t stopped conservative groups and ad hoc “not in my back yard”-style anti-development groups from making the connection. The Associated Press sorts fact from fiction when it comes to whales …

SYDNEY — Australia’s national weather agency on Saturday warned of extreme to severe heatwave conditions over northern parts of the country through Sunday. A lower-intensity heatwave is expected for much of the east coast starting Tuesday. The heatwaves continue the scorching start of summer in Australia. In early December, a heatwave warning affected areas in every state and territory, with the exception of Tasmania. Weather is considered a heatwave when the maximum and minimum temperatures are unusually hot over three days. Local councils in Sydney are setting up heat shelters to …

ISLAMABAD — Only 12 children around the world have been paralyzed by wild poliovirus so far this year, all of them in Pakistan and Afghanistan — with six reported in each. They are the last two countries in which the highly infectious disease still exists. Moreover, the World Health Organization has warned that the countries’ vaccination programs continue to miss a large number of children, posing a significant risk to gains made against the crippling wild Type 1 poliovirus. In addition, Pakistan’s campaign to repatriate undocumented Afghans has increased the risk …

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Coral Springs, florida — Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day. A few miles away, the same voice comforted Deanna Dezern, 83, when her friend died. In central New York, it plays games and music for Marie Broadbent, 92, who is blind and in hospice, and in Washington state, it helps Jan Worrell, 83, make new friends. The women are some of the first …

GENEVA — The World Health Organization says dengue, a mosquito-borne illness, is surging worldwide because of climate change, along with social, environmental and other factors, such as population growth and the globalization of travel, which facilitates the spread of the viral infection. “Climate change has an impact on transmission because it increases rainfall, humidity, and temperatures,” said Diana Rojas Alvarez, World Health Organization team lead on arboviruses. “So, these mosquitos are very sensitive to temperature, and temperature regulates how fast they grow and how fast they incubate the virus inside them,” …