The head of popular messaging service WhatsApp is planning to leave the company because of a reported disagreement over how parent company Facebook is using customers’ personal data. WhatsApp billionaire chief executive Jan Koum wrote in a Facebook post Monday, “It’s been almost a decade since (co-founder) Brian (Acton) and …
your ad hereB-I-G Time: Wild Cards Send Spelling Bee Field Above 500
“Gargantuan” might be an appropriate word to kick off this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. The competition will be super-sized because of a new wild-card program that provided a path to the bee for kids who didn’t qualify by conventional means and were willing to pay their own way. Scripps …
your ad herePaper Plane Protesters Urge Russia to Unblock Telegram App
Thousands of people marched through Moscow, throwing paper planes and calling for authorities to unblock the popular Telegram instant messaging app on Monday. Protesters chanted slogans against President Vladimir Putin as they launched the planes – a reference to the app’s logo. “Putin’s regime has declared war on the internet, …
your ad hereState TV: Iran’s Judiciary Bans Using Telegram App
Iran’s judiciary has banned the popular Telegram instant messaging app to protect national security, Iran’s state TV reported Monday. “Considering various complaints against Telegram social networking app by Iranian citizens, and based on the demand of security organizations for confronting the illegal activities of Telegram, the judiciary has banned its …
your ad hereUN Agency That Fights AIDS Reopens Sexual Harassment Case
The U.N. agency that fights AIDS says that it’s reopening a sexual harassment investigation against a top official, saying additional allegations have emerged against him. UNAIDS says it was reopening the investigation into a case against deputy executive director Luiz Loures that centers on a complaint from a lower-level employee …
your ad hereRecycling Oyster Shells Improves Water Quality, Oyster Population
It’s another busy day for Tony Price, who has a list of around two dozen restaurants and other seafood businesses to visit, to pick up discarded oyster shells. Fast and energetic, he moves barrels of smelly shells from restaurants’ back storage areas to his truck. “We do seven pickups a …
your ad hereISS to Get a New Commander and AI Assistant
On June 6, a few months short of its 20th birthday, the International Space Station or ISS, is scheduled to receive its newest crew, including the new commander, German astronaut Alexander Gerst. While Gerst and other members of his team are undergoing rigorous training in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in …
your ad hereUgandan Government Eyes Tax on Mobile Data Use
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni was criticized this month when he asked the Finance Ministry to find a way to tax social media use, in order to control what he called “gossip” online. Officials have since walked back that characterization, though they say they are pushing ahead with efforts to add …
your ad hereUS Wireless Carriers T-Mobile, Sprint Announce Merger
The third and fourth biggest U.S. wireless carriers, T-Mobile and Sprint, said Sunday they plan to merge, the third attempt they’ve made to join forces against the country’s two biggest mobile device firms, Verizon and AT&T. The deal, if it happens this time, calls for T-Mobile to buy Sprint for …
your ad hereA Unique Window on Being Queer in Nigeria
“Whenever I was with her, I was open. I could talk … my sexuality does not define who I am.” These words are from a new book, “She Called Me Woman: Nigeria’s Queer Women Speak.” The new book, released this week, is a collection of interviews with two dozen women. …
your ad hereParenting of the Future? Pick an Embryo
The future of parenting may see a big change as scientists and ethicists have a startling prediction about how children will be conceived in the future. Thanks to biomedical advances, parents may be able to choose a child from hundreds of embryos based on their DNA profile. Faith Lapidus reports. …
your ad hereChina Rapidly Expanding its Technology Sector
If you want your technology sector to expand rapidly, it pays to have strong support from the government, easy access to bank loans and a large market, hungry for your products. All this is available in China, where technology companies are expanding at a rapid pace — making other countries, …
your ad hereAmerica’s Best Crafts Spotlighted at Smithsonian Show
The Smithsonian Craft Show is wrapping up this weekend, highlighting works from artists across the United States. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more. …
your ad hereComedian Draws Laughs, Gasps at Correspondents’ Dinner
If President Donald Trump isn’t comfortable being the target of jokes, comedian Michelle Wolf gave him and others plenty of reasons to squirm Saturday night. “It’s 2018 and I’m a woman, so you cannot shut me up,” Wolf cracked, “unless you have Michael Cohen wire me $130,000.” No, Trump’s personal …
your ad hereJazz Festival Remembers Fats Domino
Fats Domino was a New Orleans musical legend when he died last year, so it’s only fitting that he and his music receive a special send-off this year during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Organizers on Saturday marked the occasion with a jazz funeral as well as a …
your ad hereDrugmakers Push Back Against Lawmakers’ Calls to Tax Opioids
Facing a rising death toll from drug overdoses, state lawmakers across the United States are testing a strategy to boost treatment for opioid addicts: Force drug manufacturers and their distributors to pay for it. Bills introduced in at least 15 states would impose taxes or fees on prescription painkillers. Several …
your ad hereAutism Poses Special Challenges in Africa
The 4-year-old Cote d’Ivoire boy couldn’t walk, speak or feed himself. He was so unlike most other kids that his grandparents hesitated to accept him. The slightly older Kenyan boy was so restless that his primary-school teachers beat him, until they discovered he was a star pupil. The two children …
your ad hereCan a River Model Save Eroding Mississippi Delta?
Thousands of years of sediment carried by the Mississippi River created 25,000 square kilometers of land, marsh and wetlands along Louisiana’s coast. But engineering projects stopped the flow of sediment and rising seas thanks to climate change have made the Mississippi Delta the fastest-disappearing land on earth. Louisiana State University …
your ad hereGenetics Help Spot Food Contamination
A new approach for detecting food poisoning is being used to investigate the recent outbreak of E.coli bacteria in romaine lettuce grown in the U.S. state of Arizona. The tainted produce has sickened at least 84 people in 19 states. The new method, used by the Centers for Disease Control …
your ad hereRoycroft Campus: Where U.S. Craftsmanship Was Born
The Arts and Crafts movement began in Britain and flourished in Europe at the turn of the 19th century. It stood for traditional crafts and against mass-produced goods that were popular in the United States at the time. But Americans too joined the movement and established the Roycroft Campus, which …
your ad hereFilmfest DC Brings International Films to the Capital
Filmfest DC is celebrating its 32nd year in the nation’s capital, by showcasing 80 films from 45 different countries to a politically savvy international audience. But the festival provides more than just entertainment. Over the years, the festival has become a cultural and economic force for a city known around …
your ad hereCritic of Burundi’s Leader May Use ‘Surprise’ Cannes Platform
When the 71st Cannes Film Festival opens in France next month, the jury will include a Burundian songwriter and singer who by her own admission, has nothing to do with films. “It was a big surprise for me. First of all, I have no connection with that world of cinema. …
your ad hereUS Won’t Restore Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Protections
U.S. officials will not restore federal protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears, despite a court ruling that called into question the government’s rationale for turning grizzly management over to states that are now planning public hunts for the animals, according to an announcement Friday in in the Federal Register. The disclosure …
your ad hereArchaeologists Find Ancient Mass Child Sacrifice in Peru
Archaeologists in northern Peru say they have found evidence of what could be the world’s largest single case of child sacrifice. The pre-Columbian burial site, known as Las Llamas, contains the skeletons of 140 children who were between the ages of five and 14 when they were ritually sacrificed during …
your ad hereSocial Media Stars Redefining Beauty
For the latest beauty and makeup trends, those in the know are ditching fashion magazines and logging on to social media. YouTube and Instagram influencers are redefining beauty standards. And as Tina Trinh reports, the industry is taking notice. …
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