Van Morrison has come up with a simple, and surprisingly effective, way to combat possible writer’s block — recycle old songs and standards with a brand new approach. He’s tried it before with “Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue” in 2015 and is at it again in “You’re Driving Me Crazy.” This …
your ad hereMalaria on Rise in Crisis-hit Venezuela, WHO Says
Malaria is spreading rapidly in crisis-hit Venezuela, with more than an estimated 406,000 cases in 2017, up roughly 69 percent from a year before, the largest increase worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday. Venezuelan migrants fleeing the economic and social crisis are carrying the mosquito-borne disease into Brazil and other parts of …
your ad hereFlying Taxi Start-Up Hires Designer Behind Modern Mini, Fiat 500
Lilium, a German start-up with Silicon Valley-scale ambitions to put electric “flying taxis” in the air next decade, has hired Frank Stephenson, the designer behind iconic car brands including the modern Mini, Fiat 500 and McLaren P1. Lilium is developing a lightweight aircraft powered by 36 electric jet engines mounted …
your ad hereFacebook Rules at a Glance: What’s Banned, Exactly?
Facebook has revealed for the first time just what, exactly, is banned on its service in a new Community Standards document released on Tuesday. It’s an updated version of the internal rules the company has used to determine what’s allowed and what isn’t, down to granular details such as what, …
your ad hereSummer Movie Preview: Hollywood Roars Back into Action
Summer starts early this year in Hollywood with the potentially record-breaking release Thursday of Avengers: Infinity War, and the marquee Marvel superheroes couldn’t be coming at a better time. The box office for the year is down nearly three percent, and the industry is looking to redeem itself after last …
your ad hereCambridge Analytica Fights Back on Data Scandal
Cambridge Analytica unleashed its counterattack against claims that it misused data from millions of Facebook accounts, saying Tuesday it is the victim of misunderstandings and inaccurate reporting that portrays the company as the evil villain in a James Bond movie. Clarence Mitchell, a high-profile publicist recently hired to represent the …
your ad hereWhatsApp Raises EU Minimum Age Ahead of New Data Privacy Law
WhatsApp, the popular messaging service owned by Facebook Inc, is raising its minimum age from 13 to 16 in Europe to help it comply with new data privacy rules coming into force next month. WhatsApp will ask European users to confirm they are at least 16 years old when they …
your ad hereMusic Streaming Revenues Surge and Investors Like the Beat
Online streaming services such Spotify and Apple Music have become the recording industry’s single biggest revenue source, overtaking physical sales of CDs and digital downloads for the first time, a trade group said on Tuesday. The rapid growth in streaming music services in recent years has led to a recovery …
your ad hereTibetan Refugees in India Protect Language and Culture
Although Migmar Tsering crossed the border into India when he was just six-years-old, he remained closely connected to his Tibetan culture and language at the school for Tibetan refugees in the hill town of Mussoorie where he studied. Now as principal of TCV Day School Samyeling in the Indian capital, …
your ad hereNano-Drops Bring Simple Eye Fix into View
The path to sharper vision has gone from glasses to contact lenses to laser correction… and now, to eye drops. Faith Lapidus has details of the latest development. …
your ad hereCommission on Fragile States Says Paradigm Shift Needed to Stabilize Poor Countries
A new report by Britain’s Growth and Development Commission offered a mix of both good and bad news for poor countries: some of the countries in the report have achieved middle income status, and places once plagued by conflict and instability have shown signs of improvement. But the report also …
your ad hereChina Tech Firms Pledge to End Sexist Job Ads
Chinese tech firms pledged on Monday to tackle gender bias in recruitment after a rights group said they routinely favored male candidates, luring applicants with the promise of working with “beautiful girls” in job advertisements. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report found that major technology companies including Alibaba, Baidu and …
your ad hereBanderas Plays Picasso, a Complex Hometown Hero, in ‘Genius’
Antonio Banderas, who shares his birthplace with Pablo Picasso, decided it finally was time to portray his hometown hero. But he leaves it to viewers of National Geographic’s drama series “Genius: Picasso” to reconcile the artist’s revelatory work with his treatment of the women who helped inspire it. The …
your ad hereMichigan Water Activist, 6 Others Win Environmental Prize
A woman who played a key role in exposing the lead-tainted water disaster in Flint, Michigan, is among seven people from around the world to be awarded a Goldman Environmental Prize for grassroots environmental activism. LeeAnne Walters was repeatedly rebuffed by Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration, even as she confronted …
your ad hereCyprus Regains Rare Orthodox Christian Mosaic Stolen in 70s
A rare 6th century mosaic depicting the St. Andrew that was taken from a looted church in the Cyprus’ breakaway north has been returned after four decades, the head of the island nation’s Orthodox Christian Church said Monday. Archbishop Chrysostomos II said that the artistry that went into the …
your ad hereBig Secrets, Bumper Box Office for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
“Avengers: Infinity War” boasts more than 20 superheroes and expects to storm the box office, but even its A-list cast don’t know quite what to expect when the film gets its world premiere on Monday night. Secrecy was key during filming on the Walt Disney Co. movie, which brings together …
your ad hereNew NASA Boss Gets ‘Hearty Congratulations’ From Space
NASA’s new boss is already getting cheers from space. Immediately after being sworn into office Monday by Vice President Mike Pence, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine took a call from the three U.S. astronauts at the International Space Station who offered “hearty congratulations.” The Oklahoma congressman became the 13th administrator …
your ad hereUS Soldier Gets World’s First Penis and Scrotum Transplant
A young military veteran who had his genitals blown off in a blast in Afghanistan has received the world’s most extensive penis transplant. Surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, rebuilt the man’s entire pelvic region — transplanting a penis, scrotum and part of the abdominal wall from a …
your ad hereFacebook Says It is Taking Down More Material About ISIS, al-Qaida
Facebook said on Monday that it removed or put a warning label on 1.9 million pieces of extremist content related to ISIS or al-Qaida in the first three months of the year, or about double the amount from the previous quarter. Facebook, the world’s largest social media network, also published …
your ad hereScientists: California Risks Severe ‘Whiplash’ From Drought to Flood
California will suffer more volatile weather this century with a “whiplash” from drought to rain and mounting risks a repeat of the devastating “Great Flood” of 1862, scientists said on Monday. Climate change, driven by man-made greenhouse gas emissions, would drive more extreme shifts between hot and dry summers and …
your ad hereUAE to Fund $50.4M Project to Rebuild Mosul’s Grand Al-Nuri Mosque
The United Arab Emirates will finance a $50.4 million project to rebuild Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque, famous for its eight-century-old leaning minaret, that was blown up by Islamic State militants last year, the United Nations said Monday. Reconstruction and restoration of the mosque and al-Hadba minaret will be in partnership …
your ad hereQ&A: Mel Brooks Still Loves Movies, Just Not Streaming Them
Mel Brooks is just two months shy of his 92nd birthday and he still carves out time for movie nights with his pal Carl Reiner. The two just recently got together to watch a restoration of the 1938 Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland classic “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” …
your ad hereRussian City of Saransk Tests New Arena Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2018
Russian soccer teams FC Mordovia and FC Zenit-Izhevsk tested a new football stadium on Saturday, April 21. The Mordovia Arena in the Russian City of Saransk will be one of 12 hosts for the FIFA World Cup this summer. Arash Arabasadi reports. …
your ad hereTechnology is Latest Trend Reshaping Fashion
Technology is permeating and changing almost every industry, including fashion. From how clothes are made and purchased to your relationship with what you wear, computing power is reshaping fashion as we know it. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details. …
your ad hereJanet Jackson Extends Her State of the World Tour
Janet Jackson is extending her uber-successful tour with more shows. The pop icon says her State of the World Tour, which originally wrapped in December, will kick off new dates July 11 in Austin, Texas. Dates have also been added in Rogers, Arkansas; Cincinnati; Syracuse, New York; Hersey, Pennsylvania; Saratoga …
your ad here