After lengthy delays, an $8.2 billion revamp of a colonial-era rail line snaking from the Arabian Sea to the foothills of the Hindu Kush has become a test of Pakistan’s ability to rethink signature Chinese “Silk Road” projects due to debt concerns. The rail megaproject linking the coastal metropolis of …
your ad here2018 Paris Auto Show Celebrates 120th Anniversary
2018 marks the 120th year of the world-famous Paris Auto Show. Car manufacturers parade their products, which have dramatically changed through the years in response to, among other things, rising oil prices and climate change. Even women’s participation has evolved from objectified accessories to full-fledge participants. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports. …
your ad hereNobel Prizes Still Struggle With Wide Gender Disparity
Nobel Prizes are the most prestigious awards on the planet but the aura of this year’s announcements has been dulled by questions over why so few women have entered the pantheon, particularly in the sciences. The march of Nobel announcements begins Monday with the physiology/medicine prize. Since the first prizes …
your ad hereCroatian Vintner Ages Wines in Amphoras on Adriatic Sea Floor
Traditional two-handled ceramic jars known as amphoras were used extensively in ancient Greece to store and transport a variety of products, especially wine. These days they are more likely to be found in shipwrecks than in stores. But wine-filled amphoras are once again being found on the sea floor, not …
your ad hereSome US Catholic Churches Close as Attendance Flags
The Catholic Church is closing parishes across the American Midwest and Northeast in response to years of flagging attendance. Changing demographics and an overall trend of secularism is partly to blame, but repeated cases of sexual abuse in the church have not helped. Reporter Teresa Krug reports from the Midwestern …
your ad hereUsing Art to Unite a Divided Neighborhood
Sedgwick Street in Chicago is a thoroughfare divided by race and socio-economics. The area was settled by German, Irish and Sicilian immigrants. But in the 1950s and ’60s, when the original settlers began moving out, African-Americans, Puerto Ricans and so-called hippies started moving in. Today, Sedgwick Street remains a social …
your ad hereArtist With A Rare Vision Condition Sees The World Like Few Do
Some animals, like mantis shrimp and chameleons, can see more shades and colors than humans. But a few people also have this ability. They have a condition called tetrachromacy. Concetta Antico, an artist from San Diego, is one of them. Genia Dulot spoke with her about what it’s like to …
your ad hereWar Childhood Museum Documents the Most Innocent Victims of War
It may be the world’s only museum that looks at the lives of children who grew up during wars. Founded in 2017 in Sarajevo two decades after the end of the Bosnian War, the War Childhood Museum opened its newest temporary exhibit earlier this month in Washington. Azra Dolberry spoke …
your ad hereLegendary Chicago Blues Guitarist Otis Rush Dies at 84
Legendary Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush, whose passionate, jazzlike music influenced artists from Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton to the rock band Led Zeppelin, died Saturday at the age of 84, his longtime manager said. Rush succumbed to complications from a stroke he suffered in 2003, manager Rick Bates said. …
your ad hereTesla, Musk Settle Fraud Suit for $40M
Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have agreed to pay a total of $40 million and make a series of concessions to settle a government lawsuit alleging Musk duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company. The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission allows Musk …
your ad hereCanada FM Postpones UN Speech as Trade Talks Intensify
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland postponed her U.N. speech Saturday as free-trade talks between the U.S. and Canada intensified. Freeland had been scheduled to deliver Canada’s address to the General Assembly in New York, but Canada exchanged the slot with another country. Freeland may or may not give the …
your ad hereA Pakistani American Startup Fighting Media Censorship
According to the latest report by the Committee to Protect Journalists in Pakistan, fatal violence against journalists has declined, but fear and self-censorship have grown. In this era, five Pakistani American students at Harvard University have created a startup that challenges censorship using the latest block-chain technology. Their mission is …
your ad hereGenetic Engineering Spurs New Hope in Malaria Fight
Scientists have managed to wipe out a population of mosquitoes in a laboratory using a type of genetic engineering known as a gene drive. The intervention prevented the females from reproducing and caused the entire population to die off. Scientists hope the method can be transferred from the lab to …
your ad hereUS Consumers Spend More; Inflation Flattens
U.S. consumer spending increased steadily in August, supporting expectations of solid economic growth in the third quarter, while a measure of underlying inflation remained at the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target for a fourth straight month. Economists said Friday’s report from the Commerce Department should allay fears of the economy …
your ad hereGoogle CEO to Testify Before US House on Bias Accusations
Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai has agreed to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee later this year over Republican concerns that the company is biased against conservatives, a senior Republican said Friday. Republicans want to question Google, the search engine of Alphabet Inc, about whether its search algorithms are …
your ad hereOusting Musk at Tesla Viewed as Difficult, Possibly Damaging
Tesla without Elon Musk at the wheel? To many of the electric car maker’s customers and investors, that would be unthinkable. But that’s what government securities regulators now want to see. The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal court to oust Musk as Tesla’s chairman and chief executive …
your ad hereWHO Chief Urges Action on Deadly Non-Communicable Diseases
Seven in 10 people worldwide die from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases, according to a study published in The Lancet earlier this month. These diseases not only rob people prematurely of their lives, they cost enormous amounts of money. The Lancet report estimated that over the next …
your ad hereRebel Attacks Rise in Ebola-Infected Areas in Eastern DRC
A rise in violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is displacing more people and hampering humanitarian efforts, including operations to stop the spread of Ebola, the United Nations refugee agency warns. More than 20 people have been killed in recent attacks in the Beni area of Congo’s North …
your ad hereFacebook Says 50M User Accounts Affected by Security Breach
Facebook says it has discovered a security breach affecting about 50 million user accounts which could have allowed hackers to access those accounts. The social media giant said Friday it has taken steps to fix the security problem and alerted law enforcement. The company said hackers exploited the …
your ad hereFacebook Tightens Security After Announcing Breach
The security breach Facebook announced Friday that affected 50 million users was a setback for the social media giant, which has been working for months to regain customers’ trust over how it handles their data. In addition to the 50 million users whose log-on information could have been accessed by …
your ad hereMcCartney Pens Book for His Grandchildren
Paul McCartney has written a children’s book called Hey Grandude!, a name the 76-year-old former member of The Beatles says came from one of his grandchildren. “I’ve got eight grandchildren and they’re all beautiful and one day one of them said to me ‘Hey Grandude!’ I said ‘What?’ and I …
your ad hereBarbra Streisand to Trump in New Song: Don’t Lie To Me
When Barbra Streisand started writing lyrics for her new political song, “Don’t Lie to Me,” she initially aimed for “very subtle” references to President Donald Trump. But she couldn’t help herself. “I just went ballistic,” she said. “Don’t Lie to Me,” released Thursday, finds a passionate Streisand questioning the nation’s …
your ad hereDC Fashion Week Features International Hybrid Designs
Fashion designer Ellen London uses textiles from all over the world in her designs, sometimes mixing them — combining a Thai fabric, for example — with one from the U.S. Appalachian region. “I believe that textiles and fashion have an idea to teach people about understanding and connection of different …
your ad hereDC Fashion Week Showcases International Hybrid Designs
Washington, D.C., is not a fashion town. Residents are known for dressing conservatively, if not for wearing clothes that are downright stodgy. But a computer engineer-turned fashion designer believes the nation’s capital is one of the best locations for fashion. VOA’s June Soh met DC Fashion Week founder Ean Williams …
your ad hereBrad Smith on Microsoft’s $40M AI for Humanitarian Action Program
VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren talks with Brad Smith, Microsoft’s President and Chief Legal Officer about the tech giant’s new Artificial Intelligence program. …
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