Billionaire Bill Gates and Estée Lauder Cos chairman emeritus Leonard Lauder on Tuesday said they will award $30 million over three years to encourage development of new tests for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. For Microsoft co-founder Gates, launch of the Diagnostics Accelerator program follows an announcement in November of …
your ad hereEgypt Targets Social Media With New Law
Egypt’s parliament has passed a law giving the state powers to block social media accounts and penalize journalists held to be publishing fake news. Under the law passed on Monday social media accounts and blogs with more than 5,000 followers on sites such as Twitter and Facebook will be treated …
your ad hereLab-grown Meat Could Be in Restaurants in 3 Years
A Dutch company that presented the world’s first lab-grown beef burger five years ago said Tuesday it has received funding to pursue its plans to make and sell artificially grown meat to restaurants from 2021. Mosa Meat said it raised 7.5 million euros ($8.8 million), mainly from M Ventures and …
your ad hereCongo Ebola Outbreak Expected to End Next Week
The World Health Organization says it expects the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to be over on July 24. That will mark 42 days, two incubation periods of 21 days each, since the last patient infected with the Ebola virus was released from care. The countdown toward …
your ad hereThe Go-Go’s on Their Legacy and Advice for Other Rockers
Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin has five simple words of advice for female rock bands — “Write. Write. Write. Write. Write,” she said. “I think the world needs a lot more women that are really taking charge of their whole career and image, instead of women being picked by men …
your ad here‘Mamma Mia!’ Sing-along Returns with Star-studded Sequel Premiere
Amid olive trees and plenty of ABBA tunes, the musical world of “Mamma Mia” took over a London theater on Monday for the film sequel’s world premiere with Oscar winner Meryl Streep and pop diva Cher among the attendees. Ten years after the movie version of the hit theater musical, …
your ad hereMass Radio Campaign Saves Thousands of Children’s Lives in Africa
A mass radio campaign in Burkina Faso led to a significant rise in sick children getting medical attention and could prove one of the most cost-effective ways to save young lives in poor countries, researchers said Tuesday. Publishing results of a trial involving a radio campaign in rural areas that …
your ad hereClassic 1965 Ford Mustang Given Self-driving Abilities
Scientists from Cranfield University in Britain have teamed up with the engineering firm Siemens to retro-fit a classic 1965 Ford Mustang with driverless technology. They recently tested it on a racetrack at the Goodwood Festival of Speed — considered the largest motoring garden party in the world. VOA’s Julie Taboh …
your ad here3-D Printing Helps Restore 18th Century Chinese Pagoda
Twenty-first century technology has helped restore an 18th century Chinese pagoda in the heart of London. Faith Lapidus has the story. …
your ad hereUN Envoy: 1.1B People Face Risks from Lack of Cooling
New data from 52 countries in hot climates reveals that over 1.1 billion people face “significant risks” — including death — from lack of access to cooling, a U.N. envoy said Monday. Rachel Kyte told a press conference that “millions of people die every year from lack of cooling access, …
your ad hereWorld’s Oldest Bread Found at Prehistoric Site in Jordan
Charred remains of a flatbread baked about 14,500 years ago in a stone fireplace at a site in northeastern Jordan have given researchers a delectable surprise: people began making bread, a vital staple food, millennia before they developed agriculture. No matter how you slice it, the discovery detailed on Monday …
your ad hereVenezuela Pleads Guilty in US to Role in PDVSA Bribe Scheme
A former official at a Venezuelan state-run electric company pleaded guilty on Monday to U.S. charges that he participated in a scheme to solicit bribes in exchange for helping vendors win favorable treatment from state oil company PDVSA. Luis Carlos De Leon Perez, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court in …
your ad hereUS Launches Five WTO Challenges to Retaliatory Tariffs
The United States launched five separate World Trade Organization dispute actions on Monday challenging retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and Turkey following U.S. duties on steel and aluminum. The retaliatory tariffs on up to a combined $28.5 billion worth of U.S. exports are illegal under …
your ad hereStevie Nicks and LeAnn Rimes Share Heartbreak in New Duet
Stevie Nicks cried on her living room floor when she first saw LeAnn Rimes perform “Borrowed” on her TV in 2013. The song, about an intimate, yet fleeting romance between Rimes and her lover, came out on Rimes’ “Spitfire” album when Nicks became enamored with it. The Fleetwood Mac …
your ad hereActivists: Thousands of Congolese Threatened by National Park Oil Plans
Democratic Republic of Congo’s plan to drill for oil in national parks could leave thousands of farmers and fishermen who rely on the land in a struggle to survive, rights groups said Monday. The central African country announced last month that it was taking steps toward declassifying parts of Virunga …
your ad hereUN Envoy Says Reforms Needed to Resume Libyan Oil Production
The U.N. envoy for Libya said Monday he fears the recent agreement to resume oil production in the conflict-torn country will not hold unless two issues are speedily tackled — distribution of wealth and “endemic plundering of resources.” Ghassan Salame told the Security Council in a video briefing that unless the …
your ad hereTop US Official: China Overloading Poor Nations With Debt
China is saddling poor nations with unsustainable debt through large-scale infrastructure projects that are not economically viable, the head of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) said on Monday. The criticism of Beijing — targeted by President Donald Trump in a trade war that has sent ripples through economies …
your ad hereScarlett Johansson Film Exit Spotlights Lack of Transgender Actors on Screen
Scarlett Johansson’s decision to pull out of a film role playing an American gangster who was born a woman but identified as male could kickstart a drive to get more transgender actors on screen, film insiders and LGBT campaigners said on Monday. Hollywood star Johansson had agreed to play Dante …
your ad hereCardi B Crowns Break-Out Year With Leading 10 MTV VMA Nominations
Rapper Cardi B earned a leading 10 nominations on Monday for the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA), reflecting a break-out year that has seen her become one of the industry’s most successful and sought-after performers. The New York singer, 25, earned nominations in all the top categories, including both best …
your ad hereStudy: CRISPR Gene Editing Can Cause Risky Collateral DNA Damage
Scientists studying the effects of the potentially game-changing gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 have found it can cause unexpected genetic damage which could lead to dangerous changes in some cells. The findings, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology on Monday, have safety implications for gene therapies that are being developed using CRISPR/Cas9 …
your ad hereBoxer Mayweather, George Clooney Lead World’s Highest Paid Entertainers
American boxer Floyd Mayweather was named the world’s highest-paid entertainer on Monday on a list that saw actor George Clooney take the No. 2 spot with the highest annual pay of his career. Reality star Kylie Jenner, 20, came in third on the annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list, largely thanks …
your ad hereVenezuela Facing ‘Economic Collapse,’ IMF Warns
Venezuela is in a state of “economic collapse” with hyperinflation not seen since the middle of the last century, the International Monetary Fund said Monday. Despite higher oil prices that are benefiting most exporting nations, the IMF sees a worsening contraction of the economy, which in April already was forecast …
your ad hereTesla Shares Tumble After Musk Tweet Controversy
Tesla shares stumbled Monday as chief executive Elon Musk faced criticism over a public spat with a British diver who worked on the Thai soccer team rescue. Shares of the electric car maker were down 3.5 percent in late-morning trading at $307.82 on news that Musk could face a libel …
your ad hereChina Suffers Setback in Its EU Trade Rapprochement
As the United States ratchets up trade threats, China suffered a setback on Monday for its calls for international cooperation in counteracting what it calls U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies. Luca Jahier, the president of the European Economic and Social Committee, said that the European Union won’t “gang …
your ad hereIMF Warns US of Economic Vulnerability from Trade War
The International Monetary Fund is warning escalating trade conflicts threaten to curb the world’s economic recovery, saying U.S. exports are especially vulnerable in the face of retaliatory tariffs other nations are imposing on them in response to President Donald Trump’s new levies on foreign imports. The Washington-based IMF, in its …
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