“Ditch your car” is one of the first bits of advice from author Edward Abbey, for anyone wanting to visit Utah’s vast desert landscapes. “You can’t see anything from a car; you’ve got to get out of the … contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over …
your ad hereIndian Mill Girl Sprints to New Life as Policewoman
Before the break of dawn, Muthulakshmi Mariappan slips out of her home and starts running. In the stillness of the morning, she gasps for breath but eggs herself on to run faster, take longer strides and ignore the thorns piercing her bare feet. For the 20-year-old spinning mill worker, running …
your ad hereCuba: Private Sector Freeze Will Not Last Years
The Cuban government said on Monday the freeze on new licenses for some private-sector occupations would not last years, in an attempt to reassure citizens worried about an apparent pause in the liberalization of the economy. Communist-run Cuba last week said it was suspending issuing licenses for popular activities like …
your ad herePoached Eels: US Strikes at Illegal Harvests as Value Grows
Changes in the worldwide fisheries industry have turned live baby American eels into a commodity that can fetch more than $2,000 a pound at the dock, but the big demand and big prices have spawned a black market that wildlife officials say is jeopardizing the species. Law enforcement authorities have …
your ad hereGoogle Exec Denounces Employee’s Views on Female Workers
Silicon Valley’s efforts to promote workforce diversity haven’t yielded many results — unless you count a backlash at Google, where a male engineer blamed biological differences for the paucity of female programmers. His widely shared memo, titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” also criticizes Google for pushing mentoring and diversity programs …
your ad here2 Members of Russian Punk Band Pussy Riot Detained
Two members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were briefly detained Monday after rallying for the release of a Ukrainian filmmaker outside his Siberian prison. During Sunday’s protest in Yakutsk where Oleg Sentsov is serving his sentence, the band members unfurled a banner on a nearby bridge that …
your ad hereRIA: Moscow to Cut Dependence on US Payment Systems
Russia will speed up work on reducing dependency on U.S. payment systems and the dollar as a settling currency, RIA news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Monday. It is a response to the new sanctions against Russia reluctantly signed into law last week by U.S. …
your ad hereBritain Denies Agreeing to Pay Multi-billion EU Exit Bill
The British government denied Monday that it has agreed on the amount of its European Union exit bill, after a report emerged that it plans offer the bloc 36 billion pounds ($47 billion). Britain’s outstanding tab to settle commitments it made as an EU member is one of the biggest …
your ad hereTrump Company Applies for Casino Trademark in Macau
A Trump Organization company has applied for four new trademarks in the Asian gambling hub of Macau, including one for casinos, public records show. The new applications highlight the ethical complexity of maintaining the family branding empire while Donald Trump serves as president, and are likely to stoke speculation about …
your ad hereTackling Social Injustice With Video Games
At the recent Games for Change festival in New York City, the video games on display were a far cry from Mario Brothers and Call of Duty. Instead, game developers showed off titles that tackled civic and social issues. VOA reporter Tina Trinh explores. …
your ad herePublic Napping Space in Madrid Reinventing an Old Tradition
A midday nap is very much part of the Spanish traditional life style. However, having a public place in which to do so is new. Siesta & Go is the first nap bar in Madrid according to reporter Faiza Elmasry. VOA’s Faith Lapidus narrates. …
your ad hereMalta Restores Forgotten War Rooms, Hewn into the Rocks in WWII
In a vast network of tunnels carved into the rocks under the Maltese capital Valletta, faded maps of the Mediterranean hint at the place’s role in directing key battles in World War II. Malta is now restoring the 28,000 square meters (300,000 square feet) of tunnels, planning to open a …
your ad hereBig, Toothy Fish Found in Nevada Chomped Prey Like Sharks
A fossil found in northeastern Nevada shows a newly discovered fish species that scientists believe looked, and ate, like a shark. The fossil is what remains of a bony, sharp-toothed fish that would have been about six-feet-long (1.83 meters) with long jaws and layers of sharp teeth. The …
your ad hereA Picture and Its Story – Spacecraft Blast Off on Edge of Day and Night
For more than a decade, Shamil Zhumatov has photographed spacecraft taking off from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur cosmodrome. After dozens of launches, he says the challenge is to find new and better ways of taking pictures. The Soyuz spacecraft which blasted off on July 28 carried NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Russia’s Sergey …
your ad hereNew Video Games Tackle Social Injustice Issues
You’re in Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake has just struck your village and you must rescue the survivors. This is “After Days,” a video game based on the real-life Nepal earthquake that killed almost 9,000 people in 2015. Minseok Do was showing the game at the recent Games for …
your ad hereHong Kong ‘Smart’ Ring Aims to Help Visually Impaired
A voice in your ear at the touch of a hand? The Orii ring allows people to take phone calls, handle text messages and interact with a phone’s digital assistant, all by transferring sound to a user’s ear through bone conduction. The ring, designed by Hong Kong-based start-up Origami Labs, …
your ad hereJoining Some Arab States, Israel Says it Plans to Ban Al-Jazeera TV
Israel said Sunday it plans to ban Qatar’s flagship Al-Jazeera network from operating in the country over allegations it incites violence, joining Arab nations that have shut down the broadcaster amid a separate political dispute. The news organization, in turn, said it will take legal action. Communications Minister Ayoob Kara …
your ad hereUS Exhibit on Khmer Rouge Atrocities Aims to Prevent Another Genocide
As a steady flow of visitors slowly made their way through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on a recent morning, some contemplated a special exhibition on the Khmer Rouge terror in Cambodia, which wiped out almost a fifth of the population. Helen Wedgewood, an American tourist, was among those in …
your ad hereHit Song, Hit Video: ‘Despacito’ Sets YouTube Record
The music video for the No. 1 hit song Despacito has a new record — it’s become the most popular clip on YouTube of all-time with more than 3 billion views. YouTube announced Friday that Luis Fonsi’s ubiquitous song with Daddy Yankee has surpassed previous record holder See You Again, the …
your ad hereLED Smart Shoes Turn Feet into Glowing Displays
There are smart phones, smart light bulbs, and now smart shoes. A Japanese engineer has created LED footwear that become glowing computer displays. And even though there are other shoes on the market that glow, these shoes step it up a notch, as we hear from VOA’s Deborah Block. …
your ad hereCuba to Shut Down Fast-growing Accounting Cooperative
Cuban authorities have ordered the closure of one of the island’s fastest-growing cooperatives, days after announcing that they would stop issuing new permits for some private enterprise. Scenius, which provides accounting and business consulting services, will have until December 31 to liquidate, the cooperative’s founder and director, Luis Duenas, told …
your ad hereUK Ready to Pay Up to 40B Euros to Leave EU, Newspaper Reports
Britain is prepared to pay up to 40 billion euros ($47 billion) as part of a deal to leave the European Union, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, citing three unnamed sources familiar with Britain’s negotiating strategy. The European Union has floated a figure of 60 billion euros and wants significant …
your ad hereKenyan Elections Observation Group Deploys Technology to Help Monitor Polls
Kenya’s Elections Observation Group (ELOG) plans to deploy about 5,000 observers to monitor Tuesday’s vote. ELOG also will use Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) to monitor the presidential election. The Elections Observations Group, (ELOG) which is made up of civil society and faith-based organizations, met Saturday in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and …
your ad hereMississippi Nissan Workers Reject Union
Supporters of the United Auto Workers say they’re not giving up their fight to unionize a Nissan auto assembly plant in Mississippi after a stinging defeat, even as UAW opponents say Friday’s loss proves workers don’t want the union. More than 62 percent of workers voting in a two-day election …
your ad hereHardy Antarctic Plants and Their Sunscreen Potential
The World Health Organization reports that there are 2 to 3 million cases of melanoma skin cancer reported every year. Sunscreen is a big part of preventing these cancers, but chemical laden sunscreens have their drawbacks. That’s why scientists are scouring the natural world to understand how plants protect themselves …
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