Yearly Archives: 2023

Russia Arrests Head of Space Equipment Maker, Suspected of Fraud

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MOSCOW — The head of a company that makes navigation systems for Russia’s space program was arrested in Moscow and charged with major fraud, state media reported Friday. TASS news agency quoted an unidentified law enforcement official as saying that Yevgeny Fomichev had been interrogated and charged with large-scale fraud, which carries a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of 1 million rubles ($10,972). TASS said Moscow’s Basmanny District Court, which often handles high-profile cases, ordered Fomichev to be held in pretrial detention until Feb. 21 at …

How Did America’s Founding Father Celebrate the Holidays?

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Have you ever wondered how the holidays were celebrated in 18th-century America? VOA’s Saqib Ul Islam visits Mount Vernon, the historic home of America’s first president, George Washington. At this historic site, one of the nation’s most visited, holiday traditions from the 1770s are preserved. …

Charity: For Many Older People Christmas is ‘Hardest Day’

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Christmas for many is a time of family togetherness and good cheer, but for older adults, it can too often be one of the year’s loneliest days. Age UK, a charity group that deals with ageism and the problems of this demographic, says people can take simple steps to help. Umberto Aguiar has more from London in this report narrated by Elizabeth Cherneff. …

Chinese Chip Import Concerns Prompt US to Review Semiconductor Supply Chain  

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washington — The U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday that it would launch a survey of the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and national defense industrial base to address national security concerns from Chinese-sourced chips.  The survey aims to identify how U.S. companies are sourcing so-called legacy chips — current-generation and mature-node semiconductors — as the department moves to award nearly $40 billion in subsidies for semiconductor chip manufacturing.  The department said the survey, which will begin in January, aims to “reduce national security risks posed by” China and will focus on …

Bird Flu Set to Spread in Antarctic, Causing Huge Damage, Report Says

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PARIS — Bird flu is likely to spread further in the Antarctic region, causing immense damage to wildlife, according to experts on the highly contagious disease that has killed hundreds of millions of birds worldwide in recent years. The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, commonly called bird flu, to the remote southern region has raised concerns for isolated populations of species, including penguins and seals, that have never been exposed to the virus. The H5 strain of the virus was detected in the region on October 8 in …

Scientists Aim to Save Northern White Rhino From Extinction

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Nairobi — Kenyan and international researchers are hoping to save the northern white rhino species from extinction by implanting eggs from an older female northern white rhino into a female surrogate rhino from another species. Samuel Mutisya, head of research and species at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in central Kenya, says his team used 29 eggs taken from one of the two aging white rhino females that remain in the conservancy. He says his team aimed to fuse the eggs with saved northern white rhino sperm to create a pure embryo, …

FIFA, UEFA Acted Contrary to EU Competition Law in Blocking Super League, Court Says

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BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top court ruled Thursday in a landmark decision for the future of soccer’s club competitions that UEFA and FIFA acted contrary to EU competition law in blocking plans for the breakaway Super League. The case was heard last year at the court after Super League failed at a launch in April 2021. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called the club leaders “snakes” and “liars” and threatened to ban players from Super League clubs. The company formed by 12 rebel clubs — now led by only Real Madrid …

Poinsettia’s Origins, Namesake’s Checkered History Get New Attention

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SANTA FE, N.M. — Like Christmas trees, Santa and reindeer, the poinsettia has long been a ubiquitous symbol of the holiday season in the U.S. and across Europe. But now, nearly 200 years after the plant with the bright crimson leaves was introduced in the U.S., attention is once again turning to the poinsettia’s origins and the checkered history of its namesake, a slaveowner and lawmaker who played a part in the forced removal of Native Americans from their land. Some people would now rather call the plant by the name …

International Astronaut Will Be Invited on Future NASA Moon Landing

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An international astronaut will join U.S. astronauts on the moon by decade’s end under an agreement announced Wednesday by NASA and the White House. The news came as Vice President Kamala Harris convened a meeting in Washington of the National Space Council, the third such gathering under the Biden administration. There was no mention of who the international moonwalker might be or even what country would be represented. A NASA spokeswoman later said that crews would be assigned closer to the lunar-landing missions, and that no commitments …

In Sudan, Health Care Crisis Looms for Unborn, Newborn as Conflict Escalates

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Nairobi, Kenya — According to the British charity Save the Children, some 30,000 children will be born in war-torn Sudan over the next three months without access to proper medical care, such as through doctors, hospitals and medicines. The group says the lack of basic health care endangers both mothers and unborn children, heightening the risk of long-term and deadly complications.  That’s out of a total of some 45,000 children that are expected to be born in Sudan in the next quarter amid conflict that has destroyed many health facilities in …

Toyota’s Daihatsu to Halt Vehicle Shipments in Widening Safety Scandal

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TOKYO — Toyota Motor’s Daihatsu unit will halt shipments of all of its vehicles, Japan’s biggest automaker said on Wednesday, after an investigation into a safety scandal found issues at 64 models, including almost two dozen sold under Toyota’s brand. An independent panel has been investigating Daihatsu after it said in April it had rigged side-collision safety tests carried out for 88,000 small cars, most of those sold as Toyotas. But the latest revelations suggest the scope of the scandal is far greater than previously thought and could potentially tarnish the …

Blue Origin Returns to Space After Year-long Hiatus

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WASHINGTON — Blue Origin launched its first rocket in more than a year on Tuesday, reviving the U.S. company’s fortunes with a successful return to space following an uncrewed crash in 2022. Though mission NS-24 carried a payload of science experiments, not people, it paves the way for Jeff Bezos’ aerospace enterprise to resume taking wealthy thrill-seekers to the final frontier. The New Shepard suborbital rocket blasted off from the pad at Launch Site One, near Van Horn, Texas, at 10:42 a.m. After separating from the booster, the gumdrop-shaped capsule attained …

Drought-Prone California OKs New Rules for Turning Wastewater Directly Into Drinking Water

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SACRAMENTO, California — When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places: an ice skating rink in Ontario, ski slopes around Lake Tahoe, farmland in the Central Valley. And — coming soon — kitchen faucets. California regulators on Tuesday approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses. It’s a big step for a state that has struggled for decades to secure reliable sources of drinking …

Marvel, Disney Drop Actor Jonathan Majors After Assault Conviction

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New York — Jonathan Majors was convicted Monday of assaulting his former girlfriend after a trial that he hoped would vindicate him and restore his status as an emerging Hollywood star. It did just the opposite: Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. dropped him hours after the verdict. A Manhattan jury found Majors, 34, guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation stemming from his March confrontation with then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. She said he attacked her in a car and left her in “excruciating” pain; his lawyers said …

‘Society of the Snow’ Recounts 1972 Andes Plane Crash

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Nominated for a Golden Globe and Spain’s entry for an Academy Award, the film “Society of the Snow” revives the story of the 1972 flight disaster in the Andes Mountains. Veronica Villafane spoke with its director, Juan Antonio Bayona, and one of the survivors of the fatal plane crash that captivated the world. …

Study Bolsters Evidence Severe Obesity Increasing in Young US Kids

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NEW YORK — A new study adds to evidence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children. There was some hope that children in a government food program might be bucking a trend in obesity rates — earlier research found rates were dropping a little about a decade ago for those kids. But an update released Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate bounced back up a bit by 2020. The increase echoes other national data, which suggests around 2.5% of all preschool-aged children were severely obese …

Pope Approves Blessings for Same-Sex Couples if the Rituals Don’t Resemble Marriage

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Rome — Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament …

European Union Investigating Musk’s X Over Possible Breaches of Social Media Law

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LONDON — European Union authorities are looking into whether Elon Musk’s online platform X breached tough new social media regulations in the first such investigation since the rules designed to make online content less toxic took effect. “Today we open formal infringement proceedings against @X” under the Digital Services Act, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a post on the platform Monday. “The Commission will now investigate X’s systems and policies related to certain suspected infringements,” spokesman Johannes Bahrke told a press briefing in Brussels. “It does not prejudge the outcome …