Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird has been named best picture by the New York Film Critics Circle, which also awarded Gerwig best director and its star, Saoirse Ronan, best actress. The film critics’ group announced its awards Thursday on Twitter, throwing its fullest support behind Gerwig’s coming-of-age tale. Considered one of …
your ad hereGerman Jobless Rate Hits Best Figure Since 1990 Reunification
Germany, Europe’s most robust economy, said Thursday that its unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in November, the lowest figure since West and East Germany were unified in 1990. Even as Chancellor Angela Merkel and other Berlin politicians struggle to form a coalition government, the German economy remains strong, with …
your ad hereJim Nabors, TV’s Gomer Pyle, Dies at 87
Actor Jim Nabors, best known for his U.S. television character Gomer Pyle, died Thursday at his home in Hawaii at age 87. Nabors, born in Alabama, exaggerated his Southern accent for the Pyle character. The dull-witted but lovable Pyle became a beloved presence on television’s The Andy Griffith Show in …
your ad hereOPEC Agrees Oil Cut Extension to End of 2018
OPEC agreed on Thursday to extend oil output cuts until the end of 2018 as it tries to finish clearing a global glut of crude while signalling it could exit the deal earlier if the market overheats. Non-OPEC Russia, which this year reduced production significantly with OPEC for the first …
your ad hereMore Than Half the World’s Population Lacks Social Protection
The International Labor Organization says a majority of the world’s population, four billion people, have no social protection, leaving them mired in an endless cycle of poverty. The report says 45 percent of the global population is covered by at least one social benefit. But that leaves 55 percent without …
your ad hereEurozone Recovery Fueling Jobs But Wages, Prices Lag
The buoyant economic recovery across the 19-country eurozone has pushed unemployment down to its lowest level in nearly nine years but has yet to translate to a sustained pick-up in wages and prices, official figures indicated Thursday. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said the jobless rate fell to …
your ad herePast and Future Fed Chairs Testify Before US Lawmakers
Fed Chair Janet Yellen appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday for what may be the last time she speaks before U.S. lawmakers. Yellen, whose term expires in February, will likely be succeeded by President Donald Trump’s pick, Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell. This week, members of the U.S. Congress got a …
your ad hereNBC Fires Morning Show Host Over Harassment Allegations
The U.S. television network NBC has fired its leading morning news anchor, Matt Lauer, just days after receiving a complaint against him describing sexual misconduct. Hours later, U.S. lawmakers discussed how to handle harassment on Capitol Hill. Esha Sarai reports. …
your ad hereAIDS Day: A Moment to Reflect on Progress Against a Deadly Scourge
Friday marks World AIDS Day, and the World Health Organization is promoting a campaign of universal health coverage to help the 36.7 million people around the world living with HIV/AIDS. Gabrielle Weiss reports for VOA on the efforts of a Washington, D.C., clinic, Whitman Walker Health. …
your ad herePhoto Exhibit Recaptures Bhutanese-Nepali Lost History
As refugees resettle in a new country, their identities are often lost in the transition. A photo exhibit in the U.S. Midwestern city of Columbus, Ohio, offers a small window into one local refugee community. VOA’s June Soh explored the exhibit that sheds light on the refugees’ brave journeys from …
your ad hereMarvel’s Biggest Cast Assemble for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
The evil villain Thanos is preparing to take over the universe and Marvel has recruited all of its cinematic superheroes, from Iron Man and Thor to Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, to save the galaxy in Wednesday’s new trailer for “Avengers: Infinity War.” The film, due in theaters in May 2018, …
your ad hereSundance Works to Make Film Festival Safer Amid Hollywood Sex Scandal
Sundance Film Festival organizers say they are working with law enforcement to make the annual independent film showcase in January a safer place in the wake of sexual harassment accusations sweeping Hollywood. “Sundance is really the first grand community gathering after all this has hit. So we’re looking for ways …
your ad here‘Coco’ Draws Latino Audiences With Celebration of Culture
Coco, one of the largest U.S. productions ever to feature an almost entirely Latino cast, is drawing large audiences among Latinos for its focus on cultural themes. From Albuquerque, New Mexico, to San Jose, California, Latino families last week crowded theaters to support a film centered on the Mexican holiday …
your ad hereMexico Economy Minister Calls US NAFTA Autos Proposal ‘Not Viable’
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Wednesday that Trump administration demands for a U.S.-specific automotive content requirement in NAFTA were “not viable,” and he declined to specify when Mexico would formally respond. At a news conference following a series of meetings with senior U.S. trade officials and lawmakers in Washington, …
your ad hereFacebook Suspends Ability to Target Ads by Excluding Racial Groups
Facebook Inc. said on Wednesday it was temporarily disabling the ability of advertisers on its social network to exclude racial groups from the intended audience of ads while it studies how the feature could be used to discriminate. Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, told African-American U.S. lawmakers in a …
your ad hereHollywood’s Long-Awaited Movie Museum to Open in 2019
Visitors to Los Angeles can tour movie studios and other Hollywood venues, but the city has never had a museum devoted to the movies. But the Academy of Motion of Picture Arts and Sciences is sponsoring a museum now under construction that will celebrate the city’s most famous industry. More …
your ad hereSimple Water Test could Prevent Crippling Bone Disease
A fast color-changing test that detects fluoride in drinking water could help prevent the crippling bone disease skeletal fluorosis in developing countries. Faith Lapidus has details. …
your ad hereCloud Clothing Packs Computing Power Under Your Shirt
For individuals, storing information in the cloud means it can be available to them anywhere they have a connection to the internet. It can be cheap, and it can be useful, but because all that data is going back and forth, it’s not quite as secure as storing everything on …
your ad hereDirector Says Reshoots ‘Already Done’ for ‘All the Money in the World’
Movie director Ridley Scott says he is confident of finishing reshoots on “All the Money in the World” in time for its planned December release after a scramble to replace actor Kevin Spacey because of sexual misconduct allegations. Scott told Entertainment Weekly in an on-set interview that work on the …
your ad hereNew, Long-acting Drugs Cut Frequency of Migraine Headaches in Trials
New, long-acting drugs may offer hope to millions of people who suffer from migraines. Studies of two of these medicines, given as shots every month or so, found they cut the frequency of the notoriously painful and disabling headaches. The drugs are the first preventive medicines developed specifically for migraines. …
your ad herePoll: Nearly Half of Americans Oppose Republican Tax Bill
Opposition has grown among Americans to a Republican tax plan before the U.S. Congress, with 49 percent of people who were aware of the measure saying they opposed it, up from 41 percent in October, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. Congressional Republicans are trying to rush their …
your ad hereSnapchat Seeks to Attract More Users by Redesigning App
Snapchat is separating what friends share and what media organizations publish in an attempt to appeal to a broader range of users. The photo messaging app has not been gaining enough users, especially beyond its core of younger people. Parent company Snap Inc.’s stock is down sharply since its initial …
your ad hereWith Deforestation Rising, Colombia Businesses Join Fight to End Destruction
Colombia’s palm oil industry and big businesses have pledged to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains as the country battles to reverse the growing destruction of its tropical rainforests. The commitment signed this week makes Colombia the first country in the world to launch its own chapter of the Tropical …
your ad hereForeign Visitors to US Fall Sharply From 2016
The number of international visitors to the United States through June fell sharply from last year, according to government data released Wednesday. And the number of business travelers fell by much more than the drop in tourists, according to the monthly report from the Commerce Departments National Travel and Tourism …
your ad hereSundance Lineup Includes Robin Williams, Gloria Allred Docs
Documentaries about Robin Williams, Gloria Allred and Ruth Bader Ginsber and a Lizzie Borden film with Kristen Stewart are among the 110 features set to premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Institute announced the diverse lineup of films Wednesday for the annual festival in Park City, Utah. …
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