Millions of high school students are done. So done. In flowing gowns and square caps, more than 3 million will walk across a stage this month and be handed a diploma, what they’ve been working toward for 12 years. Latavea Cole, a graduating senior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School …
your ad hereUS Muslims Celebrate Ramadan in Different Ways
Much like the rest of the world, Muslims in America are in the midst of the holy month of Ramadan — praying, fasting, giving to charity and breaking their monthlong fast every day at sunset. But as VOA’s Urdu, Kurdish and Turkish services reports, Muslims get together to enjoy the …
your ad hereHealth Experts Dispatch Experimental Vaccine to Fight Congo’s Latest Ebola Outbreak
Health experts are dispatching an experimental vaccine in areas of The Democratic Republic of the Congo that are considered ground zero in the fight against Ebola. Their hope is to try to combat the outbreak from the onset. The crucial test is providing hope, in times of uncertainty. VOA’s Julie …
your ad hereCES Asia Opens in Shanghai
Judging by the size of the crowd and the number of exhibitors at the fourth annual Consumer Electronics Show Asia, which opened Wednesday in Shanghai, China is well on its way toward catching up with the United States in consumer technology. A mirror image of the older and bigger sister …
your ad hereUNAIDS Chief: Testing is Critical in Combating HIV/AIDS
The head of UNAIDS says testing for the HIV virus is critical in reaching the goal of eliminating the virus by 2030. But the U.N. official tells VOA the effort is hampered in many countries by social taboos and stigma attached to AIDS and other HIV-related diseases. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke …
your ad hereConcerns About Racism, Violence as African, Latin American Fans Attend Russia’s World Cup
Up to a million football fans from around the world are expected to travel to Russia over the coming weeks for the World Cup, which kicks off Thursday. They include hundreds of thousands of supporters from South America and Africa, who are famous for bringing their passion and partying to …
your ad hereNew Cholera Prevention Tools: Microbes Fighting Microbes
Two promising new ways to prevent cholera are on the horizon. One is an entirely new kind of vaccine. The other is as simple as a cup of yogurt. Both may offer fast, cheap protection from explosive outbreaks of a disease that claims tens of thousands of lives each year. …
your ad hereIndian Chess Player Quits Iran Tournament Over Headscarf Rule
An Indian chess champion announced she will not be participating in a tournament in Iran, as the country’s law requiring women to wear headscarves is a violation of her human rights, she said. Soumya Swaminathan, a 29-year-old grandmaster, wrote on Facebook, “It seems that under the present circumstances, the only …
your ad hereAP Investigation: Local Fish Isn’t Always Local
Caterers in Washington tweeted a photo of maroon sashimi appetizers served to 700 guests attending the governor’s inaugural ball last year. They were told the tuna was from Montauk. But it was an illusion. It was the dead of winter and no yellowfin had been landed in the New York …
your ad hereUN: World Facing ‘Defining Moment’ in Battle Against HIV/AIDS
The head of UNAIDS says the global community is at a “defining moment” in the effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030. “This midpoint is important for us to reflect on what was not working,” Michel Sidibe told VOA, noting this year marks the halfway point to agreed …
your ad hereApple to Undercut Popular Law-Enforcement Tool for Cracking iPhones
Apple Inc said Wednesday it will change its iPhone settings to undercut the most popular means for law enforcement to break into the devices. The company told Reuters it was aiming to protect customers in countries where police seize phones at will and all users from the risk that the …
your ad hereComcast Challenges Disney with $65B Bid for 21st Century Fox
Comcast made a $65 billion bid Wednesday for Fox’s entertainment businesses, setting up a battle with Disney to become the next mega-media company. The bid comes just a day after a federal judge cleared AT&T’s takeover of Time Warner and rejected the government’s argument that it would hurt competition in …
your ad hereScientists: Antarctica Ice Loss Is Accelerating
Antarctica is melting at an astonishing pace, losing three trillion tons of ice since 1992, a global team of scientists has concluded in a new assessment of the effects of global warming on Earth’s southernmost continent. The scientists said that between 1992 and 2011, Antarctica lost 76 billion (metric) tons …
your ad hereUS Central Bank Raises Interest Rates
Leaders of the U.S. central bank raised interest rates slightly Wednesday and signaled that rates are likely to go higher as the economy continues to strengthen. At the end of two days of deliberation in Washington, the Federal Reserve set the key interest rate a quarter of a percent higher, …
your ad hereTwitter Announces Changes Ahead of World Cup
Twitter announced Wednesday it would be updating its services to make it easier for users to find content about major events such as natural disasters and the FIFA World Cup that begins on Thursday. “We’re keeping you informed about what matters by showing the tweets, conversations and perspectives around topics …
your ad hereVolkswagen Fined Nearly $1.2 Billion in Emissions Scandal
German authorities fined Volkswagen nearly $1.2 billion Wednesday for its role in a diesel emissions scandal that first surfaced in the United States in 2015. Prosecutors found the German automaker failed to properly monitor its engine development department. The lack of oversight resulted in global sales of nearly 11 million …
your ad hereTrump Assails OPEC for High Oil Prices
U.S. President Donald Trump says oil prices are too high and blames the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The 14 oil-producing nations in OPEC — Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Venezuela among them — produce about 40 percent of the world’s oil, but about 60 percent of the …
your ad hereIvory Coast Wants Bigger Piece of Chocolate Profits
For many years, Ivory Coast has been the world’s largest producer of cocoa. Most of it leaves the country in bulk and ends up in Europe, where it gets turned into fine and expensive chocolate, fetching up to 50 times the price of the raw cocoa. Chocolate is the world’s …
your ad hereBourbon Tariffs a Blow to Bourgeoning Craft Booze Businesses
As the trade dispute escalates between the United States and its global trading partners, American bourbon whiskey is among the U.S. exports in the crosshairs. It will soon be subject to a 25 percent tariff imposed by a growing number of countries as a retaliatory measure for U.S. tariffs on …
your ad hereBourbon Tariffs a Blow to Burgeoning Craft Alcohol Businesses
Distilling spirits is in Paul Hletko’s DNA. “Prior to World War II, my grandfather’s family owned what is now a major brewery in the Czech Republic,” he told VOA. But his grandfather’s Jewish family lost more than a brewery when the Nazis took over Europe during the war. “The whole …
your ad hereChina’s ZTE Stock Prices Plummet After US Deal
Shares of embattled Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE plunged more than 40 percent Wednesday, its first day of trading after agreeing to pay a $1 billion fine to the United States for violating trade sanctions. ZTE nearly went under after the Trump administration imposed a seven-year ban on the company from …
your ad hereFIFA Awards 2026 World Cup to Canada, Mexico, US Joint Bid
Football’s governing body has awarded the 2026 World Cup to a joint hosting bid by Canada, Mexico and the United States. FIFA member countries voted 134-65 in favor of the three-nation group over runner-up Morocco. President Donald Trump praised the selection for the 2026 World Cup. The 2018 World Cup …
your ad herePoverty Forces Syrian Refugee Children into Work
When 13-year-old Mounir fled Syria for Lebanon with his family after surviving a rocket strike that nearly killed them, he thought he would be safe. In fact, he had swapped one form of danger for another – sexual harassment and verbal abuse. With his father unable to work for health …
your ad hereBrazilian Tribes Fined for GMO Soy Crops on Reservations
The savannah scrubland where Chief João Ponce once hunted deer and wild boar in Brazil has given way to neat rows of soy and corn that a tractor sprays with herbicide. In the next field, silver grain silos shimmer in the hot sun. Ponce is head of the Uirapuru indigenous …
your ad hereGovt: Hundreds of Venezuelan Children Victims of Child Labor in Colombia
A campaign by Colombia to eradicate child labor discovered nearly 5,000 children working in the past three months, including hundreds from economically stricken Venezuela, the government said on Tuesday. While child labor rates have fallen in recent years, overall about 850,000 children aged 5 to 17 are estimated to be …
your ad here