Iranian media say American movie director Oliver Stone is in Tehran to attend an international film festival. Monday’s report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency says Stone briefly visited the historical city of Isfahan the previous day. According to the report, Stone will host a workshop for filmmakers …
your ad hereIt’s a Boy! Britain’s Duke, Duchess of Cambridge Welcome 3rd Child
It is a boy for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Kate, the wife of Britain’s Prince William, gave birth Monday to their third child, a boy weighing 3.8 kilograms. Well-wishers had camped for several days outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London to await the birth of the newest British …
your ad hereOne of Sudan’s Lost Boys Finds a Way to Help Other Refugees
A cup of coffee is a good way for many to start the day. But it can also do far greater good. Manyang Kher, a former Sudanese child refugee – one of the so-called Lost Boys and now a US citizen – is passionate about helping refugees build a brighter …
your ad hereFormer Sudanese Lost Boy Finds a Way to Help Others
Manyang Kher was three years old when he arrived at a refugee camp in Ethiopia’s Gambella region. During the 13 years, the South Sudanese native lived there, he observed lots of other children die. From hunger. From cholera. From attempting to flee the camp. “You fear every day because you …
your ad hereApp Helps Traveling Muslims Find a Mosque
Muslims who are traveling and looking for a place to pray can now turn to their smart phones for help. A mobile app, called Islamic GPS, helps users find mosques around the world. VOA’s Deborah Block tells us more about this helpful technology. …
your ad hereBloomberg Donating $4.5 Million to Support Paris Climate Accord
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Sunday he is giving $4.5 million to the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat to cover a U.S. government funding gap for the international Paris climate accord. Bloomberg’s charitable foundation said the money will support work developing countries are doing to achieve their …
your ad hereWorld Bank Shareholders Back $13B Capital Increase
The World Bank’s shareholders on Saturday endorsed a $13 billion paid-in capital increase that will boost China’s shareholding but bring lending reforms that will raise borrowing costs for higher-middle-income countries, including China. The multilateral lender said the plan would allow it to lift the group’s overall lending to nearly $80 …
your ad hereWorld Bank Shareholders Back $13 billion Capital Increase
The World Bank’s shareholders on Saturday endorsed a $13 billion paid-in capital increase that will boost China’s shareholding but bring lending reforms that will raise borrowing costs for higher-middle-income countries, including China. The multilateral lender said the plan would allow it to lift the group’s overall lending to nearly $80 …
your ad hereScientist Calls for ‘Antimalarials for Mosquitoes’ to Fight Killer Disease
A British scientist is proposing a new approach to fighting the spread of malaria, a treatable mosquito-borne disease that kills hundreds of thousands each year, the vast majority of them young children in Africa. As Faith Lapidus reports, he is developing an antimalarial drug designed not for humans, but for …
your ad hereAt Wes Anderson Retrospective, an Iconic Auteur’s World on Display
The National Museum of American History recently celebrated one of the most iconic American filmmakers of the past 25 years: Wes Anderson. From life-sized movie-scene backdrops to organized discussions, live music and drinks, the festival had something to offer for faithful fans and newcomers alike. Masha Morton filed this report. …
your ad hereRussia Considers Banning Facebook After Blocking Telegram
Russia says it may block Facebook if the social media company does not put its Russian user database on servers in Russian territory. The warning Wednesday by the head of the country’s state media regulator Roskomnadzor comes just days after a Russian move to block Telegram, the encrypted messaging app. …
your ad hereBooze, Blessings, and a Bible: South African Church Celebrates Drinking
A new church in South Africa celebrates drinking, and not just the communion wine. Worshippers at the Gabola church attend services in bars and taverns, where a pastor blesses their alcoholic beverages. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more on this unorthodox church. …
your ad hereEU, Mexico Reach New Free Trade Deal
The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement Saturday on a new free trade deal, a coup for both parties in the face of increased protectionism from the United States under President Donald Trump. Since its plans for a trade alliance with the United States were frozen after Trump’s election …
your ad hereTrump Mulling Full Pardon for Boxing Legend Johnson
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he was considering “a Full Pardon!” for boxing’s first black heavyweight champion, more than 100 years after Jack Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury of “immorality” in connection with one of his relationships. Trump tweeted that actor Sylvester Stallone had called him to share …
your ad hereEarth Day 2018 Focuses on Plastics Pollution
Each year on April 22, many people stop to think about the health of the world environment, as as if it were a New Year’s Day for nature, many make resolutions to treat the world around them more responsibly. The day first celebrated in 1970 is approaching a half-century of existence …
your ad hereIMF Says Trade Tensions, Debt Load Threaten World Economy
The International Monetary Fund’s policymaking committee said Saturday that a strong world economy was threatened by increasing tension over trade and countries’ heavy debt burden. Longer-term prospects are clouded, it said, by sluggish growth in productivity and aging populations in wealthy nations. In a statement at the end of three …
your ad hereUS Treasury Secretary Weighs China Trip for Trade Talk
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that he was contemplating a visit to China for discussions on issues that have global leaders concerned about a potentially damaging trade war. “I am not going to make any comment on timing, nor do I have anything confirmed, but a trip is under …
your ad hereNew Lynching Memorial Offers Chance to Remember, Heal
Elmore Bolling defied the odds against black men and built several successful businesses during the harsh era of Jim Crow segregation in the South. He had more money than a lot of whites, which his descendants believe was all it took to get him lynched in 1947. He was shot …
your ad hereChina: No Military Aim of Corridor Project With Pakistan
China has strongly refuted suggestions its multibillion-dollar economic corridor now under construction with Pakistan has “hidden” military designs as well. Beijing has pledged to invest about $63 billion in Pakistan by 2030 to develop ports, highways, motorways, railways, airports, power plants and other infrastructure in the neighboring country, traditionally …
your ad herePlastic: If It’s Not Keeping Food Fresh, Why Use It?
The food industry uses plastic to wrap its products in many places around the world. Plastic manufacturers say that keeps produce and meat fresh longer, so less goes bad and is thrown away. But, according to a new European study, while the annual use of plastic packaging has grown since …
your ad hereFrance: EU Needs Full Exemption from US Tariffs
The European Union needs to be exempted from steel and aluminum tariffs announced by the United States in order to work with Washington on trade with China, France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday. “We are close allies between the EU and the United States. We cannot live with …
your ad hereDOJ: Did AT&T, Verizon Make it Hard to Switch?
The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into whether AT&T, Verizon and a standards-setting group worked together to stop consumers from easily switching wireless carriers. The companies confirmed the inquiry in separate statements late Friday in response to a report in The New York Times. The U.S. …
your ad hereReport: Sanctions-Hit Russian Firms Seek $1.6B in Liquidity
Russian companies hit by U.S. sanctions, including aluminum giant Rusal, have asked for 100 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) in liquidity support from the government, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying Friday. The United States on April 6 imposed sanctions against several Russian entities and individuals, including …
your ad hereTop 5 Songs for Week Ending April 21
We’re firing up the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending April 21, 2018. Things really jump on this week’s lineup as we welcome two new tracks — including the Hot Shot Debut. Number 5: BlocBoy JB Featuring Drake “Look Alive” …
your ad hereProducer, DJ Avicii Found Dead
The Swedish-born producer and DJ known as Avicii has been found dead in Oman. Publicist Diana Baron said in a statement that the 28-year-old DJ, born Tim Bergling, was in Muscat, Oman. Avicii was a pioneer of the contemporary Electronic Dance Movement and a rare DJ capable of …
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