President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser H.R. McMaster has signed a book deal. Battlegrounds will cover the retired lieutenant general’s 34-year military career and his time in the Trump administration. The book is expected to be released in 2020, when Trump is expected to run for a second term in …
your ad hereActing US Environmental Chief to Continue Deregulation
The acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency plans to keep cutting anti-pollution rules and regulations on industry. Andrew Wheeler held his first meeting with EPA employees Wednesday after taking over the job for Scott Pruitt, who resigned last week amid allegations of ethics violations. Wheeler, like Pruitt and President …
your ad hereCreative Tool for Battling Air Pollution Turns Smog Into Ink
The air pollution problem isn’t going away. According to the World Health Organization, nine out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air and approximately 7 million die as a result of exposure to it each year. One creative startup has an artistic solution to an ugly problem. VOA’s Tina Trinh …
your ad hereLip Gloss Boss: Kylie Jenner To Be Youngest Self-Made Billionaire
Reality TV star Kylie Jenner is on track to become the youngest self-made billionaire in the United States thanks to the booming cosmetics company she launched two years ago, Forbes magazine reported Wednesday. Jenner, 20, half-sister of Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, debuted Kylie Cosmetics in 2016 with $29 lip …
your ad hereIn Purge, Twitter Removing ‘Suspicious’ Followers
Social networking platform Twitter announced Wednesday it will be removing accounts it had deemed suspicious from user’s follower counts, as part of a recent push to promote accuracy on the website. This could reduce the number of “followers” of some of the website’s most popular users, including politicians and celebrities. …
your ad hereTransgender Miss Universe Contender Speaks Up for Trans Kids
The first transgender woman to compete in the global Miss Universe pageant wants to make history as a role model for trans children around the globe — no matter whether she wins or not the top beauty title. The 26-year-old Angela Ponce beat 20 other contestants in the Miss Universe …
your ad hereChinese Find Suggests Human Relatives Left Africa Earlier
Stone tools recovered from an excavation in China suggest that our evolutionary forerunners trekked out of Africa earlier than we thought. Until now, the oldest evidence of human-like creatures outside Africa came from 1.8 million-year-old artifacts and skulls found in the Georgian town of Dmanisi. But the new find pushes …
your ad hereUS Soon to Leapfrog Saudis, Russia as Top Oil Producer
The U.S. is on pace to leapfrog both Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s biggest oil producer. The latest data released by the Energy Information Administration shows U.S. output growing again next year to 11.8 million barrels a day. Linda Capuano, who heads the agency, says that …
your ad hereNigeria’s Buhari Says He Will Soon Sign Up to African Free Trade Pact
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday the country will soon sign up to a $3 trillion African free trade zone. Nigeria is one of Africa’s two largest economies, the other being South Africa. Buhari’s government had refused to join a continental free-trade zone established in March, on the grounds …
your ad hereFacebook Faces First Fine in Data Scandal Involving Cambridge Analytica
Facebook will be facing its first fine in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the social media platform allowed the data mining firm to access the private information of millions of users without their consent or knowledge. A British government investigative office, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), …
your ad hereDjibouti’s New Free-Trade Zone Creates Opportunities, Deepens Dependency
In a ceremony last week attended by heads of state from across East Africa, Djibouti inaugurated what it says will become the largest free-trade zone on the continent. The project will take 10 years to complete and will occupy more than 48 square kilometers when finished. In the pilot phase, …
your ad hereCoffee and Conservation: Mozambique Tries Both on a Mountain
At Mozambique’s Mount Gorongosa — where farmers are being encouraged to grow coffee in the shade of hardwood trees, both to improve their own lot and to restore the forest — there is a point beyond which visitors are told not to go. The problem: Base camps of Mozambique’s main …
your ad hereVideo Shows Moment of Clooney Crash, Actor Thrown in Air
Actor George Clooney slammed his motorbike into an oncoming car that turned suddenly into his lane Tuesday and was thrown several meters (yards) in the air on the Italian island of Sardinia, according to video of the crash. “He is recovering at his home and will be fine,” Clooney spokesman …
your ad herePrince Harry, Meghan Mobbed by Royal Fans on Dublin Tour
Hundreds of well-wishers turned out to catch a glimpse of Prince Harry and his wife, the former actress Meghan Markle, as they made their first overseas walkabout Wednesday in Dublin. Students and tourists flocked to the Irish capital’s Trinity College, screaming and shouting to greet the royal couple, who were …
your ad hereChina Jolted by US Tariffs on Chinese Imports
China expressed shock Wednesday at the Trump administration’s decision to prepare 10-percent tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese imports covering thousands of products, the latest move in an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies. China’s commerce ministry called the decision totally unacceptable and vowed to respond. …
your ad hereMeteorological Organization: Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather
The World Meteorological Organization warns the floods, heatwaves and other extreme weather conditions gripping many parts of the world are likely to continue as a consequence of accelerating climate change. While the world was fixated on the dramatic rescue from a cave in Thailand of 12 boys and their soccer …
your ad hereTrump’s Steel Tariff Squeezes US Can Manufacturer
The Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel has been welcomed by U.S. producers of the material but slammed by American manufacturers that rely on a global steel supply chain to make everything from cars to razor blades. VOA’s Michael Bowman visited a can company that is being squeezed …
your ad hereUkraine Defends Two Croatian Football Team Members
As Croatia’s national team braces for a major World Cup battle Wednesday, FIFA is penalizing two members of the team for shouting a salute to Ukraine after Croatia defeated host Russia in a quarter-final match on Saturday. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports Ukraine has jumped to the Croats’ defense. …
your ad hereFrance Advances to 2018 World Cup Final with 1-0 Win Over Belgium
Samuel Umtiti’s goal in the 51st minute was all the scoring France needed to defeat Belgium and advance to the final of the 2018 World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. Umtiti’s corner kick on a header capped a sterling defensive effort by the Frenchmen in St. Petersburg Stadium, highlighted by …
your ad hereStuck in Trade War, US and China Face Uncertain Path to Deal
As the trade war between the world’s two largest economies nears the end of its first week, its most unsettling fact may be this: No one seems to foresee any clear path to peace. The United States insists that China abandon the brass-knuckles tactics it’s used to try to …
your ad hereFormer Apple Engineer Charged With Stealing Self-driving Car Technology
A federal court has charged a former Apple engineer with stealing trade secrets related to a self-driving car and attempting to flee to China. Agents in San Jose, California, arrested Xiaolang Zhang on Saturday, moments before he was to board his flight. Zhang is said to have taken paternity leave …
your ad hereCountry Singer Luke Combs’ Unassuming Appeal Makes Him a Hit
The first week of June was one of Luke Combs’ biggest weeks in his still fledgling career. The 28-year-old taped an outdoor performance for the “CMT Crossroads” series with soul singer Leon Bridges, attended the CMT Awards, released a deluxe version of his debut album and sang in front of …
your ad hereTramway to the Stars? Studio Proposes Skyway to Hollywood Sign
The famed Hollywood sign, worldwide symbol of Los Angeles, could be easier to reach if a proposal for a mile-long aerial tramway up the mountains gets the go-ahead. Warner Bros. movie studio on Tuesday announced details of a proposal to build a tramway from its Burbank film lot up the …
your ad hereNew Zealand’s Rocket Lab to Open Second Launch Pad in US
Rocket Lab, a Silicon Valley-funded space launch company, planned to open a second launch site in the United States to complement its remote New Zealand pad, the firm said Wednesday. Rocket Lab said it was considering four sites on both the East and West coasts and would make a final …
your ad hereDuring World Cup, Russia Opens Its Doors – But Not Too Wide – Says African Refugee
With visiting football fans largely praising Russia for a warm welcome amid World Cup 2018, the plight of a professional footballer-turned-refugee from Ivory Coast presents a more complicated picture. Charles Maynes has the story from Moscow. …
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