Donor countries at a London summit pledged Tuesday to increase funding for family planning, but proposed cuts to family planning programs by the U.S. government overshadowed the conference. The largest boost in donations announced at the Family Planning Summit came from the U.S.-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which sought …
your ad hereTrump Administration Limits Government Use of Kaspersky Lab Software
The Trump administration on Tuesday removed Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab from two lists of approved vendors used by government agencies to purchase technology equipment, amid concerns the cybersecurity firm’s products could be used by the Kremlin to gain entry into U.S. networks. The delisting represents the most concrete action taken against …
your ad hereChina Envoy Says North Korea Trade Growth Picture ‘Distorted’
China’s ambassador to the United States has said reports of trade growth between his country and North Korea, in spite of international efforts to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs, give “a distorted picture.” Last week U.S. President Donald Trump denounced China’s trade with North Korea, …
your ad hereTwitter Hires ex-Goldman Managing Director as CFO
Twitter on Tuesday hired Ned Segal, senior vice president of finance at Intuit and a former managing director at Goldman Sachs Group, as its chief financial officer beginning in late August. Anthony Noto, who has been serving as Twitter’s CFO and chief operating officer since November, will remain at the …
your ad hereReport: Small Satellites Driving Space Industry Growth
Small satellites used for observing conditions on the earth are the fastest growing segment of the $260.5 billion global satellite industry, the Satellite Industries Association said in an annual report released on Tuesday. Small satellites, some no bigger than a shoe box, generated an 11 percent jump in annual revenue …
your ad hereFolk Art Market Endures Amid Shifting US Immigration Policy
Organizers of the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe say shifting U.S. policies on security and immigration have not hampered participation by artists from 53 countries, from Cuba to Jordan. In its 14th year, the annual bazaar is expanding its mission to highlight innovation and high-fashion within folk …
your ad hereFacebook Expands Ad Testing on Messenger Globally
Facebook Inc. said Tuesday that it was testing advertising on its Messenger app globally as the world’s largest social media company looks to further monetize its popular chat service. Ads will be displayed on the home tab of the Messenger app, Facebook said, adding that users clicking on the ads …
your ad hereMichigan Imposes Prison Term for Female Genital Mutilation
Doctors and parents involved in female genital mutilation will face up to 15 years in prison under new Michigan laws. Female circumcision or cutting is already a federal crime punishable by five years in prison. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation on Tuesday that creates a state crime with harsher …
your ad hereResearchers Design Intervention to Stop Abuse of Mothers During Childbirth
Reports over the past decade have drawn global attention to shocking abuses some women have been subjected to during childbirth in developed and developing countries. The maltreatment has ranged from lack of privacy and neglect to forced sterilization, sexual and physical assault, and refusal to release a mother or child …
your ad hereWounded Afghan Soldiers Set for Invictus Games Debut
In a sprawling military base on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul, Mohammad Esa, who lost both legs to a roadside bomb, is getting ready to compete in the Invictus Games in Canada later this year. Seven Afghan soldiers have been selected to compete against peers from 17 different …
your ad hereTech Companies Wage War on Disease-carrying Mosquitoes
American technology companies are bringing automation and robotics to the age-old task of battling mosquitoes in a bid to halt the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne maladies worldwide. Firms including Microsoft and California life sciences company Verily are forming partnerships with public health officials in several U.S. states to …
your ad hereRocks Are Common Theme at Idaho’s National Park Sites
Idaho is known for potatoes, but at City of Rocks and Craters of the Moon national park sites, it’s rocks that take center stage – for rock climbers, astronauts and lovers of the rugged outdoors. Julie Taboh reports. …
your ad hereGet on Twitter, @Lagarde Tells Policymakers
How do you explain the European Central Bank’s capital key in 140 characters? Or the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dot plot? Difficult. But International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde wants the world’s policymakers to try. At a conference in Croatia on Tuesday, Lagarde said convoluted fiscal and monetary policy proposals use …
your ad hereMicrosoft Eyes TV White Spaces to Boost Internet in Rural America
Microsoft wants to extend broadband services to rural America by using the buffer zones separating individual television channels in the airwaves. Microsoft plans to partner with rural telecommunications providers in 12 states, from the Dakotas and Arizona to a far eastern edge of Maine. The strategy calls for a combination …
your ad hereThailand Greenlights First Phase of $5.5-bln Railway Project with China
Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved construction of the first phase of a $5.5-billion railway project to link the industrial eastern seaboard with southern China through landlocked Laos, as part of a regional infrastructure drive by Beijing. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who heads the Thai ruling junta, made use of an …
your ad here41 Percent of Americans Have Experienced Online Harassment
Forty-one percent of Americans say they’ve experienced online harassment, a new survey says. According to the Pew Research Center, that number is up from 2014, the last time they did the survey, when 35 percent of Americans said they’d been harassed online. Nearly two-thirds reported seeing online harassment happen to …
your ad hereIOC to Choose Los Angeles & Paris for Either 2024 or 2028 Summer Olympic Games
The International Olympic Committee Tuesday struck a deal to award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympic Games in the same session, in a move that would effectively guarantee that Paris and Los Angeles will be the winners. The two cities have been lobbying heavily to host the international sporting event. …
your ad hereWHO: Measles Has Killed 35 Children in Europe
The World Health Organization says measles has killed 35 children in Europe in the last 12 months, calling it an “unacceptable tragedy” that deaths are being caused by a vaccine-preventable disease. The figure is nearly a threefold increase since 2016, when measles killed 13 children. In 2015, it killed three. …
your ad hereVivien Leigh’s ‘Gone With the Wind’ Script up for Auction
Vivien Leigh’s copy of the “Gone With the Wind” script is going up for auction alongside dozens of items from the late star’s personal collection. Sotheby’s is offering paintings, jewelry, clothes, books and more belonging to Leigh at a Sept. 26 auction. Leigh won an Academy Award for playing …
your ad hereDespite Winning Freedom, Many Former Fishing Slaves Struggle
On the day they were freed from slavery, the fishermen hugged, high-fived and sprinted through a stinging rain to line up so they wouldn’t be left behind. But even as they learned they were going home, some wept at the thought of returning empty-handed and becoming one more mouth to …
your ad hereCongress May Bar States From Setting Self-driving Car Rules
U.S. House Republicans expect to introduce bills later this week that would bar states from setting their own rules for self-driving cars and take other steps to remove obstacles to putting such vehicles on the road, a spokeswoman said. The legislative action comes as major automakers are joining forces with …
your ad hereRussia Calls EU-Ukraine Pact ‘Exemplary’ Breach of WTO Rules
Russia has indicated a potential new legal salvo in its trade war with Ukraine and the European Union, telling the World Trade Organization that a trade deal between Kiev and Brussels breaks the rules by penalizing Russia. Minutes of a June 29 meeting of the WTO’s committee on regional trade …
your ad hereTrial Begins in Japan for CEO of Failed Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox
The former chief executive officer of the failed Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox pleaded not guilty to charges that he stole hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of the virtual currency. French-born Mark Karpeles appeared Tuesday in Tokyo District Court at the start of his trial on embezzlement and data manipulation …
your ad hereWhiskey Byproduct Will Power Cars
Every now and then, it pays to revisit abandoned methods for using a waste product of an industrial process. Researchers in Scotland found a profitable way to use byproducts of whiskey production to power cars, without any modifications to the engines. VOA’s George Putic reports. …
your ad hereSwedish Project Seeks to Recycle Resources Contained in Wastewater
Average households use a lot of water that cannot be re-used and it goes to waste. A new project in Sweden is testing a water treatment system that would put to use the nutrients and other useful elements from used water while eliminating the toxic parts. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke has …
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