Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the holiday ends Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting. In Afghanistan, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Friday touted a three-day cease-fire with the Taliban in an address to the nation to mark the Eid holiday. The cease-fire lasts through Sunday, but Ghani appealed …
your ad hereUS Lobsters Are a Target of China’s Threatened Tariffs
A set of retaliatory tariffs released by China on Friday includes a plan to tax American lobster exports, potentially jeopardizing one of the biggest markets for the premium seafood. Chinese officials announced the planned lobster tariff along with hundreds of other tariffs amid the country’s escalating trade fight with the …
your ad hereTrump’s Tariffs: What They Are and How China Is Responding
President Donald Trump just imposed tariffs on hundreds of Chinese products — from X-ray tubes to incinerators. And Beijing is striking back by targeting U.S. soybeans, beef, seafood and other products. The punch-and-counterpunch announced Friday in Washington and Beijing moved the world’s two largest economies perilously near a trade war …
your ad hereResearch on Dogs May Help Explain Human Responses to Food
Researchers in Hungary who found that normal and overweight dogs behaved differently in tasks involving food say the dogs’ responses were similar to those that might be expected from normal and overweight humans. The study suggested dogs could be used as models for future research into the causes and psychological impact of human obesity, the authors …
your ad hereTop 5 Songs for Week Ending June 16
We’re up close with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending June 16, 2018. Although we shuffle the deck this week, we don’t get any new titles. No. 5: Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey “The Middle” Zedd, Maren Morris and …
your ad hereThough US Soccer Team Sits Out World Cup, US Fans Are Watching
While American soccer fans lament that Team USA didn’t qualify for World Cup play for the first time since 1986, they’ve still got plenty of interest in the tournament. Some of those fans shared their disappointment, enthusiasm and predictions during a U.S. Major League Soccer match at New York’s Yankee …
your ad hereApple Nabs Oprah as Top Talent Flocks to Digital Entertainment
Apple Inc on Friday announced a multiyear deal with Oprah Winfrey to create original programming, a coup in the battle for A-list talent and projects in the booming digital entertainment market. “Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the …
your ad hereRecord-Setting US Astronaut Whitson Retires
U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson, who has spent more time in space than any other American, retired Friday. During her career, Whitson logged 665 days in space over three missions, the equivalent of about one year and 10 months outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Whitson was also the first woman to command …
your ad hereIran Fans Unfurl Banner at World Cup in Support of Women
Iranian fans at the national team’s first match at the World Cup unfurled a banner protesting Iran’s ban on women attending soccer matches back home. The banner read “#NoBan4Women” and “Support Iranian Women to Attend Stadiums” and it was held aloft during the match against Morocco in the Russian city …
your ad hereIn Iran, World Cup Fever Plays Out in Cinemas
With Iran banning open-air screenings of its World Cup opening match at the last minute Friday, Tehran’s cinemas turned into the venues for fans to vent their passion. Supporters thronged the steps of the Azadi cinema in central Tehran ahead of the match, chanting and deafening passers-by with blasts of …
your ad hereAt UN, World Cup is Reminder of Sport’s Role in Peace
World Cup fever hit the United Nations Thursday as ambassadors and staffers gathered to watch the opening match and celebrate the link between peace and sport. Our U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer was there. …
your ad hereSuicide Is Not Just a US Problem, It’s a Global Issue
By now, you have probably heard that suicide rates in the United States have increased sharply over the past two decades. There was a lot of media coverage after fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain took their own lives. Their suicides happened around the same time that …
your ad hereAt UN, World Cup Reminder of Role of Sport in Peace
World Cup fever hit the United Nations Thursday as ambassadors and staffers gathered to watch the opening match and celebrate the link between peace and sport. Our U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer was there. …
your ad hereAntarctica Losing Ice Faster Than Thought
Once again, hard facts support the claim that the planet is getting warmer. According to a new report, published in the scientific journal Nature, Antarctica is losing ice so fast that by the end of this century, the sea level could rise as much as 16 centimeters. This may not …
your ad hereMembers of Congress Take to Baseball Field Year After Shooting
Republican and Democratic lawmakers took to the field Thursday night for the annual congressional charity baseball game. It fell on the first anniversary of a shooting spree at a practice last year that almost killed U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. Jill Craig was in the stands for the first …
your ad hereFootball Fever Sweeping Russia as Fans Arrive From Around World
As soccer’s top stars arrive in Russia to chase World Cup glory, their fans from around the world have also made their way there to participate in the fun and hopefully see their team win. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …
your ad hereTrump OKs Plan to Impose Tariffs on Billions in Chinese Goods
President Donald Trump has approved a plan to impose punishing tariffs on tens of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods as early as Friday, a move that could put his trade policies on a collision course with his push to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. Trump has …
your ad hereNew Zealand to Tax Tourists
Most international visitors to New Zealand will have to pay a little more to see Middle Earth. Starting next year, tourists will pay between $23 and $33 to enter the country, the government announced Friday. The government estimates the tax will bring in as much as $55 million a year, …
your ad hereThanks to People, Many Animals Become Nocturnal
Lions and tigers and bears are increasingly becoming night owls because of us, a new study says. Scientists have long known that human activity disrupts nature. Besides becoming more vigilant and reducing time spent looking for food, many mammals may travel to remote areas or move around less to avoid …
your ad hereAT&T to Close Time Warner Deal, But Government May Appeal
AT&T Inc may close its $85 billion deal to buy Time Warner Inc under an agreement reached on Thursday with the U.S. government, which might still appeal a case seen as a turning point for the media industry. AT&T said it could close the deal by Friday. The government has …
your ad hereSupreme Court Answers Question of Foreign Law in US Courts
Nyet. Non. Nein. No. That’s the answer the Supreme Court gave Thursday to the question of whether federal courts in the United States must accept statements from foreign governments about their own laws as binding. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for a unanimous court that a “federal court should accord …
your ad hereRare Audubon ‘Birds of America’ Sells for $9.6 Million in New York
A first edition of John James Audubon’s The Birds of America, one of the most celebrated books of natural history, sold for $9.65 million at auction Thursday in New York, Christie’s said. The richly illustrated 19th-century book, featuring more than 400 hand-colored illustrations of 1,037 life-size birds, was one of …
your ad herePride Events Encourage Acceptance of LGBTQ Community
Watching men in exaggerated makeup parade down a busy Washington street in high heels and big-hair wigs, Thuien Nguyen commented that this was not likely to happen in his native Vietnam. Nguyen, who moved to the United States as a child, said LGBTQ+ persons — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and others …
your ad hereSushi Served With a Secret Ingredient: Microplastic
The beautiful, all-you-can-eat sushi platter you shared with friends last week might have included a special ingredient: plastic. Microplastics — the remnants of plastic bags, takeout containers and straws that almost-but-not-quite disintegrate in the oceans — are found in 3 out of 4 fish, such as squid, cuttlefish and swordfish …
your ad hereMillions of Americans Graduate, Look to the Future
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 …
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