World News

Must-watch videos of the week

A SpaceX rocket has a major crash, old photos come to life and a New York woman makes a weird discovery. These are the must-watch videos of the week. ‘It just blew up!’ SpaceX’s rocket prototype stuck its landing, but then exploded a few minutes later. SpaceX hopes a future version of the rocket will…

Italy blocks AstraZeneca vaccines as fears grow over vaccine nationalism

Italy blocks AstraZeneca vaccines as fears grow over vaccine nationalism

Italy blocked the export of 250,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Australia yesterday, in a dramatic escalation of the dispute between the European Union (EU) and drug giant AstraZeneca. Today, France’s health minister said it could also block vaccine shipments in the future but believes in a shared European approach. These are the latest salvos in…

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi conduct 4th career spacewalk

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi conduct 4th career spacewalk

The fourth spacewalk of 2021 is also the fourth spacewalk of two astronauts’ careers as they venture outside of the International Space Station Friday. Kate Rubins, a NASA astronaut, and Soichi Noguchi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut, began their spacewalk at 6:37 a.m. ET. It is expected to last for six-and-a-half hours and is…

See Jupiter and Mercury align in the sky and an asteroid flyby this weekend

See Jupiter and Mercury align in the sky and an asteroid flyby this weekend

The solar system’s largest and smallest planets will be in alignment this Friday. In the morning, Mercury and Jupiter will be in conjunction and appear just above the horizon, according to NASA. A conjunction is when two objects appear close together in the sky, but they can actually be millions of miles apart, according to…

New Zealand downgrades tsunami warning after 8.1-magnitude earthquake

New Zealand downgrades tsunami warning after 8.1-magnitude earthquake

New Zealand has downgraded its tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake struck the Kermadec Islands region early Friday, sparking fears of a tsunami. The 8.1-magnitude quake was the third to strike the area on Friday morning local time, according to the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency. Residents in some areas received emergency alerts on…

17,000 earthquakes hit Iceland in the past week. An eruption could be imminent

17,000 earthquakes hit Iceland in the past week. An eruption could be imminent

Even for a volcanic island accustomed to the occasional tremor, this has been an unusual week for Iceland. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, around 17,000 earthquakes have hit the southwestern region of Reykjanes over the past week. The largest quake, a magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale, occurred on the morning of February 24.…

Remember the pandemic greenhouse emissions drop? It’s nearly gone

Remember the pandemic greenhouse emissions drop? It’s nearly gone

Global emissions of heat-trapping gases fell dramatically last year as the pandemic forced much of the world to a halt. But new data has shown they are bouncing back — fast. Lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus caused a 7% drop in CO2 emissions over the course of 2020 — the biggest…

‘Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vacciiiine!’

‘Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vacciiiine!’

“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vacciiiine! I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate,” sang Dolly Parton, riffing on her hit song “Jolene” as she received her first Covid-19 vaccine dose. “I know I’m trying to be funny now, but I’m dead serious about the vaccine,” she told the camera. “I think we all want to get back…

Perseverance will search for ancient life on Mars. These places are next

Perseverance will search for ancient life on Mars. These places are next

When NASA’s Perseverance rover begins surveying the Martian surface in the coming months, the robotic explorer will be searching for signs of ancient life. Then, “Percy,” as she’s known to her team on Earth, will actually collect those samples, and future missions will return them to Earth. Perseverance is NASA’s first true astrobiology mission in…

A fight is brewing over Myanmar’s seat at the United Nations

A fight is brewing over Myanmar’s seat at the United Nations

The fight for control of Myanmar has now officially arrived at the United Nations. In a letter seen by CNN, Myanmar’s UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has told the international body that he still represents Myanmar, after making an impassioned speech last week rejecting the country’s military takeover. Meanwhile, a deputy ambassador to the UN…

The slowing down of ocean currents could have a devastating effect on our climate

The slowing down of ocean currents could have a devastating effect on our climate

Remember the movie, “The Day After Tomorrow,” in which a catastrophic series of global disasters strike after climate change causes the world’s ocean currents to stop? Well, new research reveals Earth’s major ocean currents are slowing down, and though the consequences will not be as immediate or dramatic as in the Hollywood fiction, there are…

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover conducted a Sunday spacewalk

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover conducted a Sunday spacewalk

It was a nice day for a spacewalk. Astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover Jr. began their spacewalk outside of the International Space Station at 6:12 a.m. ET and ended at 1:16 p.m. on Sunday. The spacewalk assisted with a continuation of upgrades for the space station orbiting Earth. The activity lasted for seven hours…

New climate pledges ‘far short’ of meeting Paris Agreement goals, UN warns

New climate pledges ‘far short’ of meeting Paris Agreement goals, UN warns

The planet is on “red alert” because governments are failing to meet their climate change goals, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday. He described 2021 as a “make or break year” following the release of a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) report analyzing the updated climate action plans submitted by 75…

Must-watch videos of the week

A dog owner demonstrates her love, dolphins show off, and the internet uses its powers for good. These are the must-watch videos of the week. Protected pupper Sid the dog fell into a frozen pool and was stuck underneath a sheet of ice. His owner, Jennie Tatum, did not hesitate to plunge into the pool…

Full moon in February 2021: When to see the Snow Moon

Full moon in February 2021: When to see the Snow Moon

Look up at the night sky tonight to catch a glimpse of February’s full moon, which will be 100% full on Saturday at 3:17 a.m. ET. The full moon will be visible around the world, but poor weather may block the view for some. Moon gazers can watch a live stream of the full moon…