Peru’s president has acknowledged that he did “earn some money” from scandal-plagued Brazilian builder Odebrecht when his consulting business received payments from the builder more than 10 years ago In a televised interview Sunday, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski characterized the payments as simply “dividends,” the result of business and investments the …
your ad hereApple’s 2017 iPhone Models Give Taiwan’s Weary Tech Sector a Reprieve
A boom in production of Apple iPhones is helping lift the economy of Taiwan, an industrial center that still relies on high-tech manufacturing contracts despite increasing competition from offshore. Apple’s phone sales in the third quarter this year grew 5.7 percent over the same period of 2016, ahead of a …
your ad hereJazz Superstar Keely Smith Dies at 89
Jazz superstar Keely Smith, best known for her immortal duets with her late husband Louis Prima, has died of heart failure at 89. Smith began her professional career her hometown of Norfolk, Virginia when Prima hired her to sing with his band while she still a teenager. Smith was known …
your ad hereBitcoin Futures Begin Trading on CME, Price Declines
Another security based on the price of bitcoin, the digital currency that has soared in value and volatility this year, began trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Sunday. The CME Group, which owns the exchange, opened up bitcoin futures for trading at 6 p.m. EST on Sunday. The futures …
your ad hereUN Urges Afghan Warring Sides to Facilitate Crucial Anti-Polio Drive
The United Nations is calling on all parties in the Afghan conflict to facilitate health workers in conducting Monday’s urgent polio vaccination campaign in a volatile southern district with the highest number of polio virus cases of any district in the world. U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer warned Sunday the …
your ad hereCritics Accuse New Foundation of Acting as Smoke-Screen for Big Tobacco
Controversy is swirling around the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. This new non-profit organization has come under intense criticism from health agencies and anti-tobacco campaigners who accuse it of acting as a smoke-screen for Big Tobacco, a charge vigorously denied by the foundation’s president. Derek Yach, who created and …
your ad hereEgypt Reopens Ancient Library at St. Catherine Monastery
Egypt reopened on Saturday an ancient library that holds thousands of centuries-old religious and historical manuscripts at the famed St. Catherine Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in South Sinai. The inauguration ceremony, attended by Egyptian and Western officials, comes after three years of restoration work on the eastern side …
your ad hereTrio Liftoff From Kazakhstan, Head for Space Station
A trio of U.S. and Japanese astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut blasted off from Kazakhstan on Sunday for a two-day trip to the International Space Station, a NASA TV broadcast showed. Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and flight engineers Norishige Kanai of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Scott Tingle of …
your ad hereStake in Vietnam’s Top Brewer for Sale, But Bids Few
Vietnam is set to auction up to a $5 billion stake in top brewer Sabeco on Monday, with Thai Beverage the only potential bidder to have expressed interest in a majority stake. The keenly anticipated sale of the state-owned maker of Bia Saigon gained momentum in recent months after being …
your ad hereCourt Case Highlights Dangers of Asbestos in Indonesia
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that is incredibly useful, but it also causes lung cancer after long-term exposure. Fifty-five countries around the world have banned the use of asbestos, but not the United States, China, Russia or India. Indonesia has not banned asbestos either, but a recent court case suggests …
your ad hereCoastal Cities Call on Nature for Protection
As climate change and rising seas threaten the world’s coastal cities, experts say natural systems can offer protection. VOA’s Steve Baragona reports from Florida, where mangroves may help shield shorelines. …
your ad hereDoes Pentagon Still Have a UFO Program?
The Pentagon acknowledged Saturday that its long-secret UFO investigation program ended in 2012, when U.S. defense officials shifted attention and funding to other priorities. But whether the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program has continued to investigate UFO sightings since its funding ended five years ago could rank as an unexplained …
your ad hereTrump Sells Republican Tax Bill to Job Seekers, Middle Class
U.S. President Donald Trump continued to tout the Republican tax bill Saturday, saying “everybody’s going to benefit” if it is signed into law. “But I think the greatest benefit is going to be for jobs and for the middle class, middle income,” Trump said to reporters on the White House …
your ad here‘Transgender,’ ‘Science-based’ Now Reportedly Among Taboo Words at US Health Agency
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is reportedly banning a list of seven words or phrases in official documents, sparking a flood of reaction on social media platforms. Policy analysts at the CDC, based in Atlanta, Georgia, were told about the list of prohibited words at a meeting Thursday with …
your ad hereHollywood, Business Team Up to Combat Harassment, Advance Equality
Top entertainment and business executives have agreed to found and fund a Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace. The new group was established at a meeting in Los Angeles convened by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, Nike Foundation founder and co-chair Maria Eite, talent attorney Nina Shaw …
your ad hereNew Kind of Retirement Community: A Little India in Silicon Valley
With people coming from around the world to work in Silicon Valley, some struggle with the best ways to care for their aging parents. Increasingly, the solution is an “affinity” retirement community, where older people from places like India and China can live near — but not with — their …
your ad hereIndian Retirees Maintain Independence, Fun and Freedom Later in Life
Young people come from around the world to work in Silicon Valley, California. As these workers build a life away from home, many struggle with how to bring their aging parents to their new community. But what happens to foreign parents entering their later years in a new country? VOA’s …
your ad hereBritain Seeks ‘Bespoke’ EU Trade Deal, Pact With China
British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said Saturday it is likely Britain will want to negotiate a bespoke arrangement for a future trade deal with the European Union, rather than copying existing arrangements like the Canada-EU deal. The European Union agreed Friday to move Brexit talks onto trade and a transition …
your ad hereAmericans Get Creative With Holiday Decorations
The biggest holiday of the season is in full swing, and holiday decor provides an important background for all the festivities. Cities, public buildings and most private homes are made ornate with Christmas trees, lights, bows, menorahs, Santas and other holiday figures. Some are now preparing for New Year’s Eve …
your ad hereVitamins Can Be Inhaled, But Should They Be?
A Los Angeles-based company claims it is turning people’s bad habits into good ones with a range of vape-able vitamin supplements. But medical experts say there are no studies yet that show inhaling nutrients is any better than taking vitamin pills or simply eating right. Faith Lapidus reports. …
your ad hereA Winter Wonderland Made of 2 Million Pounds of Ice
It’s a winter wonderland near Washington this holiday season, as it has been for nine years. It’s an exhibit called ICE!, and to it took more than 2 million pounds of ice to create sculptures that fill a huge indoor park. VOA’s Eunjung Cho reports. …
your ad hereGraduation Ceremony for US Park Police Officers on Horseback
It’s one of the country’s first branches of law enforcement. Founded in 1791 by George Washington, the U.S. Park Police oversee all federal parks, but only a few officers get to work like the country’s first president … on horseback. Arash Arabasadi reports from Washington. …
your ad hereTrump Revisits Rules Protecting Miners From Black Lung, Cancer
President Donald Trump’s mining regulators are reconsidering rules meant to protect underground miners from breathing coal and rock dust — the cause of black lung — and diesel exhaust, which can cause cancer. An advocate for coal miners said Friday that this sends a “very bad signal.” The Mine Safety …
your ad hereJudge Blocks Trump Attempt to Trim Access to Birth Control
A federal judge in Philadelphia on Friday ordered the Trump administration not to enforce new rules that could significantly reduce women’s access to free birth control. Judge Wendy Beetlestone issued the injunction, temporarily stopping the government from enforcing the policy change to former President Barack Obama’s health care law. The …
your ad hereWith Obesity on Rise, Paris Takes Hard Look at ‘Fatphobia’
France gave the world butter croissants and foie gras, yet it has often been a place where being overweight was seen as almost sinful. Now, after taking a hard look at the contradictions in the mirror, its capital has launched a campaign to counter sizeism, an often disregarded kind of …
your ad here