The fields grow shoulder-high with weeds out the window of Bob Fitzgerald’s Ford pickup. The drive through Fitzgerald’s neighborhood in Princess Anne, Maryland, is a tour of dying forests and abandoned cropland. “A few years ago, all of this was a good farm,” he said. “And it’s gone, as a …
your ad hereDead Honored in Various Ways
At this time of the year, people in many parts of the world observe holidays honoring the dead. In some countries the focus is on celebrating ancestors, in others the end of the harvest and beginning of the darker portion of the year. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports most of these …
your ad hereSea Level Rise Threatens Inland Farms Around the World
As climate change raises sea levels, salty ocean water is pushing its way inland. That’s ruining valuable farmland around the world. On Maryland’s Eastern Shore, once-productive fields are succumbing to the saline waters. So researchers are looking for ways to keep farmers in business as the land changes. VOA’s Steve …
your ad hereTaxi Service Offering Security, Comfort and Privacy
In Arabic, Annisa means an unmarried woman. And in Kenya, Annisa has become the first taxi-hailing service run by women. The new service targets women who don’t feel comfortable or safe being alone with male drivers. It also gives more women an opportunity to become cab drivers. Faiza Elmasry has …
your ad hereShoppers May Face Hard Choices Again on Health Marketplaces
Insurance shoppers likely will have several choices for individual health coverage this fall. The bad news? There’s no guarantee they will cover certain doctors or prescriptions. Health insurers have stopped fleeing the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces and they’ve toned down premium hikes that gouged consumers in recent years. Some are …
your ad hereDRC Health Ministry: Children Dying of Ebola at Unprecedented Rate
Children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are dying from Ebola at an unprecedented rate due largely to poor sanitary practices at clinics run by traditional healers, the health ministry said on Sunday. The impact on children has been felt acutely in the city of Beni, which has emerged as …
your ad hereJapan, India Leaders Build Ties Amid Trade, Security Worries
The leaders of Japan and India are reaffirming their ties amid growing worries about trade and regional stability. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived Saturday, was meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a resort area near Mount Fuji on Sunday. Modi is also visiting a nearby plant of …
your ad hereFrench FinMin: Eurozone not Prepared Enough to Face New Crisis
There is no risk of contagion from Italy’s budget crisis in the European Union but the euro zone is not prepared enough to face a new economic crisis, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told daily Le Parisien on Sunday. The European Commission rejected Italy’s draft 2019 budget earlier this …
your ad hereIstanbul to Unveil New Airport, Seeks to be World’s Biggest
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held plenty of grand opening ceremonies in his 15 years at Turkey’s helm. On Monday he will unveil one of his prized jewels — Istanbul New Airport — a megaproject that has been dogged by concerns about labor rights, environmental issues and Turkey’s weakening economy. Erdogan …
your ad hereAuthor Ntozake Shange of ‘For Colored Girls’ Fame Dies
Playwright, poet and author Ntozake Shange, whose most acclaimed theater piece is the 1975 Tony Award-nominated play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf,” died Saturday, according to her daughter. She was 70. Shange’s “For Colored Girls” describes the racism, sexism, violence and rape experienced by …
your ad hereLos Angeles Marks American Tradition with ‘Pumpkin Nights’
Traditionally, the U.S. turns to all things pumpkin as Halloween approaches at the end of October. Coffeeshops sell pumpkin spiced lattes, grocery stores offer pumpkin-scented paper towels, and markets, porches, even the White House are all decorated with carved pumpkins. One California city decided to celebrate the spookiest night of …
your ad hereRare Horse Breed Revived for Choctaw Nation
A stallion in southwest Mississippi is bringing the first new blood in a century for a line of horses brought to America 500 years ago by Spanish conquistadors. The stallion was bred by Choctaw Indians, who were later forced out of their ancestral homelands. Faith Lapidus has the story. …
your ad hereTeen’s Program Could Improve Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
Pancreatic cancer treatment could become more advanced with help from 13-year-old Rishab Jain. He’s created a tool for doctors to locate the hard-to-find pancreas more quickly and precisely during cancer treatment. The teen recently won a prestigious young scientist award for his potentially game-changing idea. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. …
your ad hereMarie Antoinette Jewels on Display in New York Before Sotheby’s Auction
Pearls, diamonds and history one of the most beautiful and historic jewelry collections will go to auction in November when Marie Antoinette’s jewels will be sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva. But for now, the breathtaking royal jewels are on display in New York. VOA’s Evgeny Maslov looked at a collection …
your ad hereChina to Give Pakistan ‘Grant’ as UAE Mulls $6B in Aid
China plans to provide an unspecified financial “grant” to Pakistan while the United Arab Emirates is actively considering Islamabad’s request for a fiscal relief package of up to $6 billion to help the country deal with a looming balance-of-payments crisis, Chinese and Pakistani officials say. News of the anticipated financial …
your ad hereDRC Ebola Death Toll Rises to 164
The Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has led to 164 deaths, health authorities said. In mid-October, Congolese authorities said they were facing a “second wave” of the outbreak centered on Beni, a town in North Kivu near the border with Uganda. The epicenter had earlier been focused on Mangina, a town about …
your ad hereSomali Medical Pioneer Continues Battle to Stop FGM
When she was a young girl, Edna Adan Ismail’s mother and grandmother circumcised her in a traditional ceremony while her father, a doctor, was away. That evening, he returned home, enraged at what had happened. “What have you done?” he asked Ismail’s mother and grandmother. Cutting the young girl, he …
your ad hereChilean Youths with Down Syndrome Create Gourmet Goodies
A group of Chilean youths with Down syndrome are gaining important life skills as they learn to plant, grow and sell their own fresh vegetables, and create delicious marmalades and preserves, which they sell for profit. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. …
your ad herePlant Fibers Make Stronger Concrete
It may surprise you that cement is responsible for 7 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. That’s because it takes a lot of heat to produce the basic powdery base of cement that eventually becomes concrete. But it turns out that simple fibers from carrots could not only reduce that …
your ad here20 Years After His Murder, Matthew Shepard Laid to Rest in National Cathedral
A little more than 20 years after he was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming, the remains of Matthew Shepard were laid to rest Friday at Washington’s National Cathedral. Shepard was openly gay, and the aftermath of his brutal killing helped drive change in the United States to include sexual orientation when …
your ad hereMegyn Kelly’s Show Canceled After Blackface Remarks
Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News Channel personality who made a rocky transition to softer news at NBC, was fired from her morning show Friday after triggering a furor by suggesting it was OK for white people to wear blackface at Halloween. “‘Megyn Kelly Today’ is not returning,” NBC News …
your ad hereQ&A: Facebook Describes How It Detects ‘Inauthentic Behavior’
Facebook announced Friday that it had removed 82 Iranian-linked accounts on Facebook and Instagram. A Facebook spokesperson answered VOA’s questions about its process and efforts to detect what it calls “coordinated inauthentic behavior” by accounts pretending to be U.S. and U.K. citizens and aimed at U.S. and U.K. audiences. Q: …
your ad hereEquities’ Slide Sends Bonds Higher, Dents Greenback
Stock markets around the world tumbled Friday while U.S. Treasury prices rose along with demand for safer bets as better-than-expected U.S. economic data did little to ease anxiety over disappointing corporate profits and trade wars. Wall Street closed above its session lows, but earnings reports from Amazon.com and Alphabet, issued …
your ad hereStudy: Online Attacks on Jews Ramp Up Before Election Day
Far-right extremists have ramped up an intimidating wave of anti-Semitic harassment against Jewish journalists, political candidates and others ahead of next month’s U.S. midterm elections, according to a report released Friday by a Jewish civil rights group. The Anti-Defamation League’s report says its researchers analyzed more than 7.5 million Twitter …
your ad hereFacebook Removes 82 Iranian-Linked Accounts
Facebook announced Friday that it has removed 82 accounts, pages or groups from its site and Instagram that originated in Iran, with some of the account owners posing as residents of the United States or Britain and tweeting about liberal politics. At least one of the Facebook pages had more …
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