https://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries https://www.voanews.com/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.voanews.com en 2026 - VOA 60 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:55:07 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA We travel to Ghana to investigate environmental crimes and those who are breaking the laws designed to protect the world in which we live. This week on The Inside Story: Nature Crimes https://www.voanews.com/a/7416370.html https://www.voanews.com/a/7416370.html Thu, 28 Dec 2023 15:59:39 -0500 The Inside Storywebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona, Senanu Tord, Cristina Caicedo Smit) It began as a familiar old story. In the early 2000s, multinational mining giant Rio Tinto came to the wilds of Michigan's Upper Peninsula to dig a nickel mine. Environmentalists feared pollution. The company promised jobs. The usual battle lines were drawn. The usual legal fights ensued. But this time, something different happened. The mining company invited a respected local environmental group to be an independent watchdog, conducting pollution testing that goes above... https://www.voanews.com/a/nickel-miners-environmentalists-learn-to-live-together-in-michigan/7356434.html https://www.voanews.com/a/nickel-miners-environmentalists-learn-to-live-together-in-michigan/7356434.html Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:35:51 -0500 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Thousands of meters beneath the Pacific Ocean lie vast deposits of the metals needed for the shift to renewable energy. Mining companies are ready to scoop up this sunken treasure strewn across an area more than half the size of the continental United States. But not much is known about the ecosystem deep beneath the ocean and what impacts mining these rocks might have. VOA's Steve Baragona has more. https://www.voanews.com/a/deep-sea-mining-could-help-fight-climate-change-but-damage-ocean/7334908.html https://www.voanews.com/a/deep-sea-mining-could-help-fight-climate-change-but-damage-ocean/7334908.html Tue, 31 Oct 2023 15:19:10 -0400 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Most mornings, thousands of fishermen set off from Ghana's Atlantic coast, pursuing a fish population that is a fraction of what it used to be. Overfishing by both local fishermen and Chinese trawlers has pushed the stocks to the brink of collapse, prompting government regulations aimed to help the fish recover. VOA's Steve Baragona has more on what they mean for Ghana's small-scale fishermen. Camera: Mary Cieslak https://www.voanews.com/a/new-rules-aim-to-reel-in-illegal-and-overfishing-in-ghana/7317545.html https://www.voanews.com/a/new-rules-aim-to-reel-in-illegal-and-overfishing-in-ghana/7317545.html Thu, 19 Oct 2023 08:44:46 -0400 Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Ghana's forests are shrinking largely to make room to grow cocoa, the raw ingredient in chocolate. The country lost a record amount of forest last year, and experts say it's not sustainable. Under an upcoming European Union regulation, chocolate companies will have to show there is no deforestation in their supply chains. But such a rule will affect Ghana's roughly 800,000 cocoa farmers, many of whom live in poverty. VOA's Steve Baragona has more. Camera: Mary Cieslak,... https://www.voanews.com/a/new-eu-rule-targets-deforestation-in-chocolate-industry-/7315813.html https://www.voanews.com/a/new-eu-rule-targets-deforestation-in-chocolate-industry-/7315813.html Wed, 18 Oct 2023 08:59:16 -0400 Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Every few years, the Pacific Ocean gets a fever, and the symptoms spread all the way around the world. It's happening again. El Niño is back, and it looks like it's going to be a big one. That raises the odds of droughts in Brazil and southern Africa, and floods in East Africa and the southern United States. https://www.voanews.com/a/el-ni%c3%b1o-is-here-get-ready-for-a-big-one-/7189622.html https://www.voanews.com/a/el-ni%c3%b1o-is-here-get-ready-for-a-big-one-/7189622.html Thu, 20 Jul 2023 19:27:54 -0400 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Robot makers who want to explore the oceans are looking to one of Earth's most successful sea creatures for design inspiration. Steve Baragona reports. https://www.voanews.com/a/logon-robot-jellyfish-aims-to-explore-the-oceans/7154671.html https://www.voanews.com/a/logon-robot-jellyfish-aims-to-explore-the-oceans/7154671.html Tue, 27 Jun 2023 09:49:00 -0400 Technologywebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) The world record for the least sleep in a day among mammals goes to elephant seals, according to new research. https://www.voanews.com/a/elephant-seals-get-by-on-two-hours-sleep-underwater-/7070338.html https://www.voanews.com/a/elephant-seals-get-by-on-two-hours-sleep-underwater-/7070338.html Fri, 28 Apr 2023 10:21:51 -0400 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Join us on this episode of The Inside Story as we explore the science behind climate change and its effects on our planet. This week on The Inside Story: Confronting the Climate Crisis - Episode 89 https://www.voanews.com/a/7069153.html https://www.voanews.com/a/7069153.html Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:54:15 -0400 The Inside Storywebdesk@voanews.com (Elizabeth Lee, Scot Stearns, Steve Baragona, Arash Arabasadi, Keith Kocinski) What would turn bird flu – the kind that's killed millions of birds around the world and a few hundred people – into the next deadly pandemic? Scientists want to know so they can get ahead of it. That's why, in 2010, two groups of researchers were studying an avian influenza virus that killed about half of the people it infected but does not spread easily among them. They infected ferrets with it to see what it would take to make it more transmissible. Ferrets' lungs and... https://www.voanews.com/a/what-to-do-when-research-to-stop-a-pandemic-could-start-one-instead/7020037.html https://www.voanews.com/a/what-to-do-when-research-to-stop-a-pandemic-could-start-one-instead/7020037.html Fri, 24 Mar 2023 11:53:51 -0400 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) More bombing of Ukraine was the way Russia marked the beginning of year two of its war against its neighbor. See Ukraine's resistance, resilience, and refuge on The Inside Story-Russia/Ukraine Year Two. https://www.voanews.com/a/the-inside-story-russia-ukraine-year-two-episode-81/6987486.html https://www.voanews.com/a/the-inside-story-russia-ukraine-year-two-episode-81/6987486.html Thu, 02 Mar 2023 21:18:05 -0500 The Inside Storywebdesk@voanews.com (Yan Boechat, Myroslava Gongadze, Steve Baragona, Sarah Zaman, Mariia Ulianovska, Carolyn Presutti) The trickle-down effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine are still being felt on food prices in vulnerable places, nearly one year after Moscow invaded the neighboring country. https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-s-war-in-ukraine-still-impacting-food-security-aid-organizations/6977877.html https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-s-war-in-ukraine-still-impacting-food-security-aid-organizations/6977877.html Fri, 24 Feb 2023 13:54:57 -0500 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago has profoundly affected how the world powers itself. https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-s-ukraine-war-rattles-energy-sector-but-not-how-moscow-wants/6977179.html https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-s-ukraine-war-rattles-energy-sector-but-not-how-moscow-wants/6977179.html Fri, 24 Feb 2023 07:27:00 -0500 Ukrainewebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Moscow's invasion of Ukraine a year ago has had profound impacts on how the world powers itself. VOA's Steve Baragona explains. https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-s-ukraine-war-shakes-up-the-energy-world-but-not-how-moscow-wants-/6976265.html https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-s-ukraine-war-shakes-up-the-energy-world-but-not-how-moscow-wants-/6976265.html Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:05:39 -0500 Europewebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) From Russia's war on Ukraine to the continuing COVID pandemic, go inside the year's biggest stories and see where we are headed next year on The Inside Story-Farewell 2022 https://www.voanews.com/a/the-inside-story-farewell-2022-episode-70/6878140.html https://www.voanews.com/a/the-inside-story-farewell-2022-episode-70/6878140.html Thu, 15 Dec 2022 15:09:12 -0500 The Inside Storywebdesk@voanews.com (Carla Babb, Cindy Saine, Anita Powell, Henry Wilkins, Myroslava Gongadze, Steve Baragona, Chris Simkins) A new, long-lasting drug could be a game-changer for preventing HIV infections, experts say. Advocates are hopeful that those who need it most in low- and middle-income countries will not have to wait for it as long as they have for previous HIV drugs. But questions remain about access and price. The drug is called cabotegravir and is delivered as a shot once every other month. In clinical trials, it did a better job at preventing infection than another option — a pill taken once a... https://www.voanews.com/a/this-hiv-prevention-drug-could-change-the-game/6857453.html https://www.voanews.com/a/this-hiv-prevention-drug-could-change-the-game/6857453.html Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:06:49 -0500 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) The Chinese government has repeatedly locked down tens of millions of people at a time over the past three years under its zero-COVID policy. It is now deploying its considerable powers of state control to suppress protests against that policy. But it has not managed to do what experts say would render the policy largely unnecessary: vaccinate and boost a greater share of its elderly population. "That's what's been most puzzling about China's approach to this... https://www.voanews.com/a/vaccinating-china-s-elderly-is-key-to-lifting-zero-covid-/6855754.html https://www.voanews.com/a/vaccinating-china-s-elderly-is-key-to-lifting-zero-covid-/6855754.html Tue, 29 Nov 2022 20:19:20 -0500 East Asiawebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Malaria exploded this year in the Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa, which saw more than 10 times as many cases between January and May as it did in all of 2019. What made this spike in cases unusual is that it happened outside the rainy season, when malaria typically surges across Africa, and in an urban area — malaria is more of a rural problem on the continent. Cities are not immune, but they typically don't see these kinds of outbreaks. Something new and insidious has arrived in the... https://www.voanews.com/a/invasive-mosquito-threatens-malaria-control-in-africa-/6834283.html https://www.voanews.com/a/invasive-mosquito-threatens-malaria-control-in-africa-/6834283.html Mon, 14 Nov 2022 18:12:20 -0500 Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) Many of the weapons Russia has used in Ukraine can carry nuclear warheads. What would be the impact if Russia used them? https://www.voanews.com/a/what-if-russia-uses-nuclear-weapons-in-ukraine-/6823955.html https://www.voanews.com/a/what-if-russia-uses-nuclear-weapons-in-ukraine-/6823955.html Mon, 07 Nov 2022 13:21:29 -0500 Ukrainewebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona) How satellite imagery and artificial intelligence helped the government of Togo deliver COVID-19 relief to its neediest citizens. https://www.voanews.com/a/togo-targets-covid-relief-with-satellites-mobile-phones-and-ai-/6808592.html https://www.voanews.com/a/togo-targets-covid-relief-with-satellites-mobile-phones-and-ai-/6808592.html Thu, 27 Oct 2022 17:37:28 -0400 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona)