U.S. economic growth is expected to accelerate this year and next, yet remain modest, even if President Trump’s promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending are implemented, a survey found. The economy will grow a solid 2.3 percent this year and 2.5 percent in 2018, according to 50 economists surveyed by …
your ad hereExperts Say Climate Change May Be Making African Drought Worse
As East Africa struggles through a drought, scientists say climate change may be making the situation worse as a warming planet may be altering the weather patterns that bring rain to the region. In Somalia, the rains failed late last year. And the rains before that were meager. Livestock have …
your ad hereTrump Plans Office to Bring Business Ideas to Government
President Donald Trump is set to announce a new White House office run by his son-in-law that will seek to overhaul government functions using ideas from the business sector. A senior administration official said Trump on Monday will announce the White House Office of American Innovation. The official sought anonymity …
your ad hereTidal Energy Taking Hold In England
A massive renewable energy project could change the seascape of the Welsh city of Swansea in coming years. The plan is to encase the city’s lagoon in a horshoe shaped causeway that will serve as a giant tidal generator. The four year project is massive but if its approved would …
your ad hereUN Makes Big Push to Wipe Out Polio on African Continent
The World Health Organization and U.N. children’s fund are spearheading a massive immunization campaign across Africa to rid the continent of the last vestiges of polio. Tens of thousands of health workers will fan out across 13 central and western African countries to vaccinate more than 116 million children under age …
your ad hereInterest Cap Poses Body Blow for Cambodian Microfinance
Just months ahead of local elections, the Cambodian government has ordered the microfinance industry to cap the interest rate on new loans at 18 percent a year. While borrowers will applaud that at least in the short term the decision has rocked the industry, which fears some firms will go …
your ad hereOPEC, non-OPEC to Look at Extending Oil-Output Cut by 6 Months
A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months, it said in a statement on Sunday. An earlier draft of the statement said the committee “reports high level of conformity and …
your ad hereUS Charity Brings Hearing Aid to Syrian Refugee Children
There are an estimated 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, 500,000 of them are children. For many of them, getting enough food and water are their biggest challenges. Children who are hearing impaired face even bigger obstacles. But some of them are getting help, thanks to a U.S. based charity …
your ad hereIn Age of Keyboards, US Kids Learn Cursive Handwriting
These days, the only words most people see are typed. Many young people never learn cursive handwriting, but it is making a comeback. Thousands of school students around the country are learning to write in longhand. At one elementary school in New York City, teachers and students seem excited about …
your ad hereMini-Drone Guided by Smartphone Takes Selfies
One day you may be carrying your own drone everywhere you go. A drone has been developed to take selfies that is so thin it can be put into your pants pocket. The Selfly, as it is called, is attached to a smartphone that fits into the phone’s case. VOA’s …
your ad hereMonuments, Countries Douse Lights for ‘Earth Hour’
It was lights out in about 170 countries on Saturday as millions of people and thousands of cities took part in Earth Hour, a global effort to draw attention to climate change. The World Wide Fund for Nature organized the first Earth Hour in 2007 in Australia. The international effort …
your ad hereUber Suspends Self-driving Car Program After Arizona Crash
Uber Technologies Inc suspended its pilot program for driverless cars on Saturday (March 25th) after a vehicle equipped with the nascent technology crashed on an Arizona roadway, the ride-hailing company and local police said. The accident, the latest involving a self-driving vehicle operated by one of several companies experimenting with …
your ad hereChinese Court Rules in Favor of Apple in Patent Disputes
A Chinese court has ruled in favor of Apple in design patent disputes between the Cupertino, California company and a domestic phone-maker, overturning a ban on selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in China, Xinhua news agency reported. Last May, a Beijing patent regulator ordered Apple’s Chinese subsidiary …
your ad hereData Show How Powerful Quake Shifted Parts of New Zealand
New data shows that parts of New Zealand’s South Island moved several meters closer to the North Island during last November’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The data, including satellite radar imagery, shows that parts of New Zealand’s South Island have shifted more than 5 meters closer to the North Island, and …
your ad hereFans to Gather for Public Memorial for Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds
Stars and fans will gather Saturday for a public memorial to honor late actresses Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher nearly three months after their deaths. The ceremony honoring the lives of the mother-daughter duo will be at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, the storied cemetery that is their final resting place. …
your ad hereAmerican Landmark Combines Contemporary Design and Nature
Fallingwater is a house in rural southwestern Pennsylvania designed in 1935 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Although it is not easy to get to, Fallingwater is a must-see, and not just for architecture buffs. VOA’s Masha Morton takes us on a tour. …
your ad hereSome Elated, Others Frustrated by Health Care Bill’s Withdrawal
Some Americans breathed a sigh of relief, others bubbled with frustration, and nearly all resigned themselves to the prospect that the latest chapter in the never-ending national debate over health care would not be the last. The withdrawal of the Republican-sponsored health bill in the face of likely defeat Friday …
your ad hereCambodia’s ‘Buzzfeed’ Attracts Silicon Valley Investment
Khmerload, a Cambodian entertainment news website modeled after the American media giant Buzzfeed, has become the country’s first local tech startup to attract the backing of Silicon Valley investors. A $200,000 investment to be exact. The money came from 500 Startups, a global venture capital seed fund and startup accelerator …
your ad hereKenya Releases Results of National TB Prevalence Survey
Kenya on Friday recognized World Tuberculosis Day by releasing results of a TB study by the country’s ministry of health — the first of its kind since Kenya’s independence. TB remains high in Kenya, and experts say the country lags in the fight against the disease. The survey represents a …
your ad hereDirector Boyle Revisits ‘Trainspotting’ Gang 20 Years Later
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle reunites with his original Trainspotting cast twenty years later to make a sequel that deals with aging, accountability, friendship and, once again, betrayal. Trainspotting 2 becomes a worthy companion to the original, as VOA’s Penelope Poulou reports. …
your ad hereDirector Boyle Re-visits ‘Trainspotting’ Gang 20 Years Later
Academy award-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle reunites with his original Trainspotting cast 20 years later to make a sequel that deals with aging, accountability, friendship and once again, betrayal. Those who saw the original film remember four friends in their twenties. They are up to no good, living on the fringes, …
your ad hereMnuchin: US Growth Prospects Not Fully Reflected in Markets
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday he believes financial markets could improve “significantly” once they fully reflect the potential for U.S. economic growth from President Donald Trump’s economic policies. Mnuchin said at an event sponsored by news website Axios that optimism about U.S. growth from policies such as …
your ad hereSpacewalking Astronauts Prep Station for New Parking Spot
Astronauts ventured out on a spacewalk Friday to prep the International Space Station for a new parking spot. NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and France’s Thomas Pesquet emerged early from the orbiting complex, then went their separate ways to accomplish as much as possible 250 miles up. “We are ready to get …
your ad hereCould ‘Internet of Skills’ Be Next Technological Leap?
What happens when a piano is combined with technology? “Kids or anybody could learn how to play the piano really properly from the best musicians in the world,” said Mischa Dohler, composer and professor of Wireless Communications at King’s College London. ‘Could we digitize skills?’ Dohler’s aim is to build …
your ad hereOn World Tuberculosis Day, Doctors Warn of New Drug-Resistant Bacteria
Friday marks World Tuberculosis Day, aimed at raising awareness of a disease that kills an estimated 1.8 million people every year. Six countries account for nearly two-thirds of the cases: India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. As Henry Ridgwell reports, resistant forms of TB bacteria are undermining efforts …
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