Amsterdam unveiled far-reaching plans Wednesday to rein in tourism, reflecting the dissatisfaction of many residents who feel the city’s historic center has been overrun. The leading Green-Left and other parties negotiating a new municipal government after March elections vowed to return “Balance to the City,” in a document of that name seen by Reuters. “The …
your ad hereUS Pushes for NAFTA Deal as Thursday Deadline Approaches
The United States is pushing for a deal in negotiations on a revised North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the White House said Wednesday, but Canadian and Mexican officials were not due in Washington for talks before a Thursday deadline. President Donald Trump is committed to getting a better agreement …
your ad hereFacebook’s Zuckerberg, EU Lawmakers to Discuss Data Privacy
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is slated to meet privately in Brussels as soon as next week with key European lawmakers about the data protection controversy that has affected his company. EU Parliament President Antonio Tajani confirmed the meeting Wednesday. It will be Zuckerberg’s first visit with EU representatives since a …
your ad hereVenezuela Reactivates Kellogg Plant After Company Pullout
Venezuelan authorities said they were reactivating a Kellogg Co plant under worker control Wednesday, a day after the U.S. multinational food producer pulled out of the crisis-hit country. Kellogg joined a host of other multinationals in exiting Venezuela and later confirmed President Nicolas Maduro’s leftist government had taken over its …
your ad hereNike, H&M, Burberry Join Forces for Sustainable Fashion
Major global brands Nike, H&M, Burberry and Gap have signed on to an initiative that aims to improve the industry’s record on sustainability after a study found less than 1 percent of clothing is recycled. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, set up by the record-breaking sailor, announced on Wednesday that the brands were joining its …
your ad hereEmissions of Banned Ozone-Eating Chemical Are Rising
Something strange is happening with a now-banned chemical that eats away at Earth’s protective ozone layer: Scientists say there’s more of it — not less — going into the atmosphere and they don’t know where it is coming from. When a hole in the ozone formed over Antarctica, countries around …
your ad hereNigeria’s Parliament Passes Record 9.12T Naira 2018 Budget
Nigeria’s parliament passed a record 9.12 trillion naira ($29.8 billion) budget for 2018 on Wednesday aimed at boosting growth in West Africa’s biggest economy nine months before the country’s next presidential election. Growth remains fragile after Africa’s top crude oil producer last year emerged from its first recession in 25 …
your ad hereCongo Receives First Doses of Ebola Vaccine Amid Outbreak
The first batch of 4,000 experimental Ebola vaccines to combat an outbreak suspected of killing 23 people arrived in Congo’s capital Kinshasa on Wednesday. The Health Ministry said vaccinations would start at the weekend, the first time the vaccine would come into use since it was developed two years ago. …
your ad hereNew Farmers Squeezed Out as Development Alters US Landscape
Four years ago, Maeve Taylor and her husband decided to quit their jobs and move their family across the United States to start an organic dairy farm in New York. The couple used a federal loan to buy 35 cows and started to learn their new trade on a patch …
your ad hereCanada Says It Will Cover Losses in Bid to Get Pipeline Done
Canada’s federal government will cover financial losses a pipeline builder might suffer if British Colombia’s provincial government continues to obstruct the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, the country’s finance minister said Wednesday. Finance Minister Bill Morneau also said that other investors would step in if Houston-based Kinder Morgan backs out of …
your ad hereSpacewalking Astronauts Tackle Pump Work at Space Station
NASA astronauts took a spacewalk Wednesday to shuffle around a couple of space station pumps. Popping out early, Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold quickly began rearranging the International Space Station’s external cooling system by swapping the positions of two spare ammonia pumps. NASA wants the best spare in the best …
your ad hereMalaysia’s New Leaders Lay Out Economic Reforms, Rattle Nerves
Malaysia’s new government to scrutinize past economic policies under the now ousted Najib Razak administration is prompting analysts to warn of a slide in investment and growth in one of Southeast Asia’s top economies. The new leadership has appointed a group of prominent citizens, an eminent persons group, to come up …
your ad hereFL Students Develop Anti-Skimming Detector to Stop ATM Hackers
While hackers steal credit card numbers online, other crooks do it directly from the card, at the point where a consumer exchanges the data with a cash or banking machine. The U.S. Secret Service says those crooks, called skimmers, steal more than a billion dollars annually. A group of students …
your ad hereAfghan Immigrant Women Prosper in Male Dominated Tech World
The United States is a land of opportunity for many immigrants. But some who come to the US often face big hurdles. The challenges can be especially great for immigrant women trying to succeed in male dominated careers in STEM fields: for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. VOA spoke with …
your ad hereExploring the History of Teeth at Baltimore’s Dentistry Museum
Here’s a little known fact to sink your teeth into — Did you know that George Washington’s second inaugural speech contained only 135 words? It’s not because America’s first president had nothing to say. Tooth historians say it’s because the president was wearing new dentures, making it difficult for him …
your ad hereSenegal’s Street Children Turn Trauma into Art in Africa’s Biggest Exhibition
Young boys who were forced to beg on the streets for Islamic teachers have turned their suffering into art, as they join more than 1,000 artists showing their work at Africa’s biggest and oldest biennale art exhibition in Senegal this month. Some 50,000 child beggars known as talibe live in …
your ad hereNY Times: US Investigating Cambridge Analytica
The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI are investigating Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political data firm embroiled in a scandal over its handling of Facebook Inc user information, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Prosecutors have sought to question former Cambridge Analytica employees and banks that handled its business, …
your ad hereStudy: US Insurers Unprepared for Climate Change Disasters
Most U.S. insurance companies have not adapted their strategies to address the dangers of climate change, making them likely to raise rates or deny coverage in high-risk areas, said a study released Tuesday. With predictions of an above-average Atlantic hurricane season approaching, thousands of people could be unable to afford …
your ad hereDJ Khaled is Top Nominee for BET Awards With 6
DJ Khaled has reason to be grateful – he’s been nominated for a leading six trophies for the BET Awards. The nominations for next month’s ceremony were announced Tuesday night. Among the awards Khaled was nominated for include album of the year for “Grateful” and video of the year for …
your ad hereThoreau’s ‘Walden’ Adapted for Video Game
Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth — er, game. Henry David Thoreau wrote those words — most of them — in his seminal book, Walden. They make up the objective of a …
your ad hereMexico Central Bank to Create Cybersecurity Unit After Hack
Mexico’s central bank said Tuesday that it was creating a cybersecurity unit, following a hack on a domestic payments system at the end of April that affected Mexican banks. The central bank said in a notice in the government’s daily gazette that the new unit would design and issue guidelines …
your ad hereUS Lawmakers Push Back on Trump Talk of Helping China’s ZTE
U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday rejected any plan by President Donald Trump to ease restrictions on China’s ZTE Corp, calling the telecommunications firm a security threat and vowing not to abandon legislation clamping down on the company. Trump on Monday had defended his decision to revisit penalties on ZTE for flouting …
your ad hereMexico Says NAFTA Deal Unlikely This Week, Canada Upbeat
Mexico’s economy minister said that he saw diminishing chances for a new North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a Thursday deadline to present a deal that could be signed by the current U.S. Congress. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that the Republican-controlled Congress would need to be …
your ad hereAs Venezuelans Suffer, Maduro Buys Foreign Oil to Subsidize Cuba
Venezuela’s state-run oil firm PDVSA has bought nearly $440 million worth of foreign crude and shipped it directly to Cuba on friendly credit terms — and often at a loss, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters. The shipments are the first documented instances of the OPEC nation buying …
your ad hereCalifornia Executives Mentor Businesses Helping Migrants, Ex-Slaves
Top Silicon Valley executives will help to grow the businesses of 21 entrepreneurs helping migrants, refugees and trafficking survivors, California’s oldest university said on Tuesday, as companies with a social mission increase around the world. The 21 social enterprises selected to join Santa Clara University’s six-month online program include a …
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