A fatal pedestrian crash involving a self-driving Uber SUV in a Phoenix suburb could have far-reaching consequences for the new technology as automakers and other companies race to be the first with cars that operate on their own. The crash Sunday night in Tempe was the first death involving a …
your ad hereChild Meningitis Remains a Challenge for Sub-Saharan Africa, India
Children in South Asia and Africa continue to face the threat of infection from meningitis. Despite progress in vaccines, there are still poor health infrastructures in key areas and inadequate access to medical services. The World Health Organization (WHO) says promoting vaccination programs faces challenges, with outbreaks of several forms …
your ad hereScandal-hit Weinstein Co. Files for Bankruptcy Protection
The Weinstein Co. filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday with a buyout offer in hand from a private equity firm, the latest twist in its efforts to survive the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down co-founder Harvey Weinstein, shook Hollywood and triggered a movement that spread out to convulse other …
your ad hereWorld’s Last Male Northern White Rhino Dies in Kenya
The world’s last male white northern rhino has died in Kenya. Conservationists say his death underscores the urgent need to end illegal trade in rhino horn. The northern white rhino once roamed Africa in the hundreds, some say even in the thousands. The population is now down to two, …
your ad hereUganda Experiments with Using Insects for Livestock Feed
The rising production of livestock feed, such as soy, gobbles up more and more valuable agricultural land that could be used to feed people. So farmers in Uganda are being encouraged to use insects as livestock feed, and some are turning the practice into a business. Faith Lapidus reports. …
your ad hereImplantable Heart Defibrillators Deliver Shock in More Ways Than One
Some people have abnormally fast heartbeats, sometimes as fast as 400 beats per minute. A heartbeat this fast can be life-threatening. The solution is an implantable defibrillator. VOA’s Carol Pearson has the stories of two people whose lives have been saved by devices implanted directly into their heart. …
your ad hereUS States Fight Trump Drill Plan With Local Bans
Some coastal states opposed to President Donald Trump’s plan to allow oil and gas drilling off most of the nation’s coastline are fighting back with proposed state laws designed to thwart the proposal. The drilling Trump proposes would take place in federal waters offshore in an area called the …
your ad hereVenezuelan Health System Decays Further, Opposition-led Survey Says
Venezuela’s health system is sinking into further disarray, a survey led by the opposition-dominated Congress showed on Monday, with most hospitals plagued by water outages, unable to feed patients and lacking even basic devices like catheters. In the midst of a crushing economic crisis that has caused medicine shortages and …
your ad hereCuba Opens Wholesale Market to Sell Basic Staples
Cuba has opened up its first wholesale market in an economy dominated by government-run enterprises. State-run newspaper Granma says the market is part of an ongoing effort to “reorganize” commerce on the communist island. The market will sell beans, beer, sugar, cigars and other basic staples for 20 to …
your ad hereOur First Interstellar Visitor Likely Came From Two-star System
Our first known interstellar visitor likely came from a two-star system. That’s the latest from astronomers who were amazed by the mysterious cigar-shaped object, detected as it passed through our inner solar system last fall. The University of Toronto’s Alan Jackson reported Monday that the asteroid — the …
your ad hereWant to Avoid the Flu While Flying? Try a Window Seat
Worried about catching a cold or the flu on an airplane? Get a window seat, and don’t leave it until the flight is over. That’s what some experts have been saying for years, and it’s perhaps the best advice coming out of a new attempt to determine the risks of …
your ad hereNew York Councilman Investigating Kushner Real Estate Company
A New York City councilman and a tenants’ rights group said they will investigate allegations that the real estate company formerly controlled by Jared Kushner, a presidential adviser and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, falsified building permits. In allegations first uncovered by The Associated Press, the Kushner Companies is accused of …
your ad hereColombia Proposes IMF Assistance for Venezuelan Refugees
Colombia proposed on Monday that the International Monetary Fund provide assistance to help several hundred thousand Venezuelan refugees who have fled an economic and political crisis to neighboring countries, officials at the G20 summit said. The proposal was discussed at a meeting on Venezuela by leading finance ministers from the …
your ad hereTribeca to Hold ‘Schindler’s List,’ ‘Scarface’ Reunions
The 25th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” and the 35th anniversary of Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” will be celebrated with reunion screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival. The New York festival announced Monday that Spielberg will join Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Embeth Davidtz for a post-screening conversation …
your ad hereTrump Bans US Use of Venezuelan Cryptocurrency
The Trump administration on Monday banned all use by Americans of Venezuelan cryptocurrency, saying that its introduction is intended to skirt U.S. sanctions. In a separate move, the administration also slapped sanctions on four current and former senior Venezuelan officials accused of corruption and mismanagement. In an executive order …
your ad hereWorld Bank Says Climate Change Could Create 140 Million Migrants by 2050
A new report by the World Bank shows that the effects of climate change could force 140 million people to move within their countries by 2050. The report looked at three developing regions of the world — sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America — and found that unless urgent action is taken, …
your ad hereSelf-Driving Car Hits and Kills Pedestrian Outside of Phoenix
A self-driving car has hit and killed a woman in the southwestern United States in what is believed to be the first fatal pedestrian crash involving the new technology. Police said Monday a self-driving sport utility vehicle owned by the ride sharing company Uber struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was …
your ad hereGlobal Stocks Fall as Concerns Rise Over Trade, Brexit, & Facebook
Major U.S. and European stock indexes were sharply lower in Monday’s trading over continuing fears of a trade war, Brexit, an upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and trouble with Facebook. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index were both down nearly 1.5 percent, while the …
your ad hereGreenpeace Says Brands Refusing to Reveal Palm Oil Sources
Greenpeace says household brands including PepsiCo and Johnson & Johnson are refusing to disclose where they get their palm oil from despite vows to stop buying from companies that cut down tropical forests to grow the widely used commodity. The environmental group said Monday that in January it asked 16 …
your ad hereHSBC Report: India Most Vulnerable Country to Climate Change
India is the most vulnerable country to climate change, followed by Pakistan, the Philippines and Bangladesh, a ranking by HSBC showed on Monday. The bank assessed 67 developed, emerging and frontier markets on vulnerability to the physical impacts of climate change, sensitivity to extreme weather events, exposure to energy transition …
your ad hereZimbabwe’s Leader Calls Out Those Stashing Millions of Dollars Overseas
Zimbabwe’s new leader has publicly named more than 1,800 companies and individuals accused of illegally stashing hundreds of millions of dollars overseas and not bringing the money home under a now-expired amnesty deal. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has vowed to fight corruption after the dramatic resignation in November of longtime leader …
your ad hereTrump Seeks Death Penalty for Drug Traffickers to Curb US Opioid Abuse
U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited plan to combat the nation’s opioid addiction crisis on Monday. In a speech at an event in Manchester, N.H., Trump vowed to help create “a generation of drug-free children” saying, “together, we will end the scourge of drug addiction in America once …
your ad hereMarvel’s Muslim Teen Girl Superhero Challenges Stereotypes
Alongside Spider-Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow and the other superheroes of the Marvel Universe is Ms. Marvel… a shape-shifting teen-aged crusader for today’s diverse American society. She may be a newbie in the world of Marvel superheros, but since she burst onto the comic book scene in February …
your ad hereSouth Africa’s New Pharmacy ATM
What if filling a prescription was as easy as withdrawing money from an ATM? A South African company has set out to make that a reality. Meet the Pharmacy Dispensing Unit. …
your ad hereUS Drinkers Take Britain’s Crown as Top World Champagne Buyers
U.S. drinkers overtook Britons as the world’s biggest buyers of Champagne in 2017, after British purchases fell heavily for the second-straight year following the vote to leave the European Union, industry data showed. Higher inflation since the Brexit referendum and slower wage growth have pinched the spending power of British …
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