Pope Francis says the “sickness of consumerism” is the enemy of generosity as he called for the faithful to give a little something to the poor. Francis made the comments during his morning homily Monday, so-called Cyber Monday when online retailers woo shoppers with bargains ahead of Christmas. …
your ad hereFossils From Angola Bring Strange Yet Familiar Ocean into View
Some may be familiar with mythical sea monsters. For example, Scotland’s infamous Loch Ness Monster “Nessie,” and Giganto — fictional beasts of comic book fame. But millions of years ago, real-life sea monsters lived and thrived in what we now call the South Atlantic Ocean. South Atlantic Ocean basin As …
your ad hereUS Top Court Open to Antitrust Suit Against Apple App Store
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared open to letting a lawsuit proceed against Apple Inc that accused it of breaking federal antitrust laws by monopolizing the market for iPhone software applications and causing consumers to overpay. The nine justices heard an hour of arguments in an appeal by the …
your ad hereChina Orders Probe After Scientist Claims 1st Gene-Edited Babies
Chinese health and medical ethics authorities started an investigation on Monday into claims by a scientist who released videos on YouTube saying he had altered the genes of twins born earlier this month, creating the first gene edited babies. The Southern University of Science and Technology in the southern Chinese …
your ad hereMore Than 200 Chinese Arrested in Cambodia for Online Scams
Police in Cambodia have arrested more than 200 Chinese citizens accused of defrauding people in China over the internet. Gen. Y Sok Khy, director of the Interior Ministry’s Department of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, said 36 women were among the 235 Chinese arrested Monday in three different villages in Takeo …
your ad hereDictionary.com Chooses ‘Misinformation’ as Word of the Year
Misinformation, as opposed to disinformation, was chosen Monday as Dictionary.com’s word of the year on the tattered coattails of “toxic,” picked earlier this month for the same honor by Oxford Dictionaries in these tumultuous times. Jane Solomon, a linguist-in-residence at Dictionary, said in a recent interview that her site’s choice …
your ad hereRussia Opens Civil Case Against Google Over Search Results
Russia has launched a civil case against Google, accusing it of failing to comply with a legal requirement to remove certain entries from its search results, the country’s communications watchdog said on Monday. If found guilty, the U.S. internet giant could be fined up to 700,000 rubles ($10,450), the watchdog, …
your ad hereCongo Starts First-Ever Trial Testing Ebola Drugs
Congo has begun the first-ever trial to test the effectiveness and safety of four experimental Ebola drugs, the first time scientists have directly compared such treatments, the World Health Organization said Monday. The U.N. health agency described the multi-drug trial as “a giant step” that would “bring clarity about what …
your ad hereUK Parliament Seizes Confidential Facebook Documents
Britain’s parliament has seized confidential Facebook documents from the developer of a now-defunct bikini photo searching app as it turns up the heat on the social media company over its data protection policies. A British lawmaker took the unusually aggressive move of forcing a visiting tech executive to turn over …
your ad hereEU, Iran Commit to Uphold Nuclear Pact Despite Trump
The European Union and Iran are affirming their support for the international nuclear deal and say they aim to keep it alive despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the landmark pact. Ahead of EU-Iran talks on civil nuclear cooperation in Brussels Monday, EU Energy Commissioner Arias Canete said …
your ad hereItalian Film Director Bernardo Bertolucci Dies
Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci has died. Bertolucci, who was 77 years old, died Monday morning at his home in Rome. Variety, the entertainment weekly magazine, reports that he had cancer. He is best known for the films “The Last Emperor,” and “Last Tango in Paris.” Bertolucci won the best …
your ad hereLike to Jog? Hate Litter? Do Both!
Many athletes have been doing it for a long time without even knowing it is now a fitness trend. It’s called plogging, a combination of jogging and picking up. And what is being picked up is trash. The Swedes are credited with starting the trend and now it’s spreading in …
your ad hereResearchers Learn Lessons from Cats’ Tongues
Scientific curiosity can lead to some surprising, and useful, discoveries. Consider the cat – questions about its sandpaper-like tongue led to plans for a synthetic version that could be used for household products or to dispense medicine. Faith Lapidus explains. …
your ad hereRunners Who Dislike Litter Do Plogging
Many athletes have been doing it for a long time without even knowing it is now a fitness trend. It’s called plogging, a combination of jogging and picking up. And what is being picked up is trash. The Swedes are credited with starting the trend and now it’s spreading in …
your ad hereTariffs Tapping Into US Craft Beer Industry
U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, a move by the Trump administration to bolster the domestic industry and protect U.S. jobs, are just starting to have a far-reaching impact on different sectors of the U.S. economy, including the growing craft beer industry. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, one thing …
your ad hereBritish Lawmakers Warn They Will Vote Against Brexit Deal
It took Britain’s Theresa May and 27 other European Union leaders just 40 minutes to sign the Brexit deal after two years of tortuous negotiations, but the trials and tribulations of Britain’s withdrawal agreement approved Sunday in Brussels are far from over. As they endorsed the 585-page the agreement, and …
your ad herePalestinian Refugee Uses Art to Enliven Refugee Camp in Lebanon
An elderly Palestinian refugee uses his brushes and a small palette to add lively colorful scenes to the walls of al-Buss, his impoverished camp in southern Lebanon. The country is home to an estimated 170,000 Palestinian refugees, spread among different camps across the country. As VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports, while …
your ad hereMany in Rural US Find Fewer Maternity Care Options
For decades, Americans have migrated toward urban areas seeking opportunities, emptying out large swaths of countryside. In their wake, they have left shrinking communities that struggle to support multiple businesses, schools and hospitals. This is a common theme in the Midwestern state of Iowa, whose population has grown by less …
your ad hereItalian Pasta Company Works to Improve Global Staple
Countries around the world have their own versions of pasta. In Germany there is spaetzle, in Greece there is orzo, throughout Asia there are dishes with noodles, and in Latin America you can find countless variations of spaghetti and other pastas. Voice of America reporter Iacopo Luzi visited the famed …
your ad hereWashington’s Women’s Museum Opens Exhibit of Award Winning Fashion Brand
Washington’s National Museum of Women in the Arts is the only museum in the world that showcases creations made exclusively by women. But in the three decades since it first opened, the museum has never had exhibitions dedicated to fashion until now. In November, it opened an exhibit dedicated to …
your ad hereNASA’s Latest Mars Probe to Attempt Landing
After traveling hundreds of millions of miles through space, NASA’s latest Mars probe will arrive Monday at the Red Planet. Scientists have carefully chosen where they want the probe, called InSight, to land, selecting a large volcanic plain named Elysium Planitia. They say the site has few rocks and less chance of …
your ad hereItaly Livid About Deal to Loan Leonardo Works to Louvre
So versatile were Leonardo da Vinci’s talents in art and science and so boundless his visionary imagination, he is known to the world as the universal genius. But not to Italy’s nationalist-tilting government, which is livid about plans by the Louvre museum in Paris for a blockbuster exhibit next year …
your ad hereRanchers Combat Overgrazing to Protect Climate
Meredith Ellis gets a bit rapturous about the little patch of earth under her feet. When she bought this northern Texas land several years ago, it was overgrazed and overrun with weeds. Now, she’s thrilled to find a dark green blob of fungus she rolls under her sparkly-nail-polished thumb. She …
your ad hereMultiple Sclerosis Treatment Developed in Australia Shows Promise
Australian researchers have made a breakthrough in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis using immunotherapy. Their world-first trial has produced promising results for the majority of patients enrolled, they said, including a reduction in fatigue and improvements in mobility and vision. The treatment targets the Epstein-Barr virus in the brain that …
your ad hereNew Statue of Liberty Museum Dedicated to Protecting Liberty
With unparalleled views of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan, a new 2,400-square-meter (26,000-square-foot) museum celebrating the statue’s legacy is set to open in 2019. VOA’s Ramon Taylor takes a peek into the building that is still under construction and pays homage to the universal concept of liberty and Lady …
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