It’s no question The Smashing Pumpkins has had a tumultuous past. Multiple iterations, breakups and solo careers later, three founding members of the 90’s Chicago-rooted rockers — Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin — are back to release their first collaborative album in 18 years, “Shiny and Oh So …
your ad hereRealistic Masks Made in Japan Find Demand from Tech, Car Companies
Super-realistic face masks made by a tiny company in rural Japan are in demand from the domestic tech and entertainment industries and from countries as far away as Saudi Arabia. The 300,000-yen ($2,650) masks, made of resin and plastic by five employees at REAL-f Co., attempt to accurately duplicate an …
your ad hereBrazil Ex-minister: Loss of Cuban Doctors Will Hurt Millions
Millions of Brazilians may be left without access to doctors due to the end of a program that brought Cuban physicians to rural and dangerous areas in Brazil, the former health minister who helped create the initiative said Thursday. The Cuban government on Wednesday said it would end the program …
your ad hereStatue of Liberty’s Original Torch Moved to Museum Site
The Statue of Liberty’s original torch, which has been housed in the base of the statue since a replica replaced it in the 1980s, was moved across Liberty Island on Thursday to its new home in a museum that will open next year. Visitors watched as the base and the …
your ad hereUkraine PM Upbeat on IMF Loan Prospects
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman expects to get new loans from the International Monetary Fund as early as December, once parliament passes a budget of stability that refrains from making pre-election populist moves, he said Thursday. Securing IMF assistance will also unlock loans from the World Bank and the European Union. Groysman also said Ukraine was in negotiations with …
your ad hereBusiness Bosses Alarmed as Resignations Imperil Brexit Deal
Business leaders expressed growing alarm Thursday as a draft Brexit agreement seen as the only chance of preserving some stability in U.K.-EU trading threatened to unravel, sending stock prices and the pound plunging. Just 12 hours after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that her cabinet had agreed to the …
your ad hereFerocious Fires Spark Concern Over Major Health Consequences
Smoke masks. Eye drops. No outdoor exercise. This is how Californians are trying to cope with wildfires choking the state, but experts say an increase in serious health problems may be almost inevitable for vulnerable residents as the disasters become more commonplace. Research suggests children, the elderly and those with …
your ad hereArgentine Senate Approves Austerity Budget for IMF Deal
Argentine lawmakers approved an austerity budget for 2019 on Thursday, cutting social spending and raising debt payments to meet conditions for expanded financing from the International Monetary Fund. The budget approved Thursday by the Senate projects a 0.5 percent slide in GDP and a 23 percent inflation rate by the …
your ad hereIMF Executive Board Will Meet in ‘Coming Weeks’ on Venezuela
The International Monetary Fund said Thursday its executive board will meet in the “coming weeks” to discuss the failure of the Venezuelan government to provide updated figures on its troubled economy. Spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters that IMF officials have held recent conversation with Venezuelan officials about the issue, but …
your ad hereRoy Clark, Country Guitar Virtuoso, ‘Hee Haw’ Star, Has Died
Country star Roy Clark, the guitar virtuoso and singer who headlined the cornpone TV show “Hee Haw” for nearly a quarter century and was known for such hits as “Yesterday When I was Young” and “Honeymoon Feeling,” has died. He was 85. Publicist Jeremy Westby said Clark died Thursday due …
your ad hereUS Turkish Tensions Rise Again Over Bank’s Fate
The fate of Turkish state-owned Halkbank bank is threatening to reopen U.S.-Turkish wounds just as both sides have been working to rebuild ties. Ankara is voicing growing frustration over U.S. deliberations over penalties for Iranian sanction-busting by Halkbank. Turkey’s Haberturk newspaper Wednesday cited a U.S. official who said investigations into Halkbank are …
your ad here‘We Trust Our Rocket,’ Crew Says Ahead of First Space Launch Since Failure
A U.S. astronaut said on Thursday she had full confidence in the safety of the Russian-made Soyuz rocket that will blast a three-person crew into space next month in the first such launch since a rocket failure. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and U.S. and Canadian astronauts Anne McClain and David …
your ad hereAutomaker Groups Warn US Tariffs Will Undermine New NAFTA Deal
U.S. automakers and parts suppliers on Thursday urged the Trump administration to end steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada and warned that potential U.S. national security tariffs on automotive imports would lead to widespread job losses. In testimony at a U.S. International Trade Commission hearing on the deal …
your ad hereUpset by Trump’s Iran Waivers, Saudis Push for Deep Oil Output Cut
When U.S. President Donald Trump asked Saudi Arabia this summer to raise oil production to compensate for lower crude exports from Iran, Riyadh swiftly told Washington it would do so. But Saudi Arabia did not receive advance warning when Trump made a U-turn by offering generous waivers that are keeping …
your ad hereUS Envoy for Iran Warns EU Banks, Firms Against Non-Dollar Iran Trade
European banks and firms which engage in a special European Union initiative to protect trade with Iran will be at risk from newly reimposed U.S. sanctions, the U.S. special envoy for Iran warned on Thursday. It is “no surprise” that EU efforts to establish a so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) …
your ad hereFlavored E-Cigarettes to Be Banned at US Convenience Stores
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced sweeping new restrictions on flavored tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes popular among teenagers in an effort to prevent a new generation of nicotine addicts. The much-anticipated announcement will mean that only tobacco, mint and menthol e-cigarette flavors can be sold at …
your ad hereHigh-Level China US Trade Talks Resume
China’s Ministry of Commerce says high-level trade talks between officials from the world’s two biggest economies have resumed. But whether or not Washington and Beijing will be able to strike a deal and avoid a looming sharp hike in tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods remains uncertain. Commerce ministry …
your ad hereFake Drugs Kill Tens of Thousands in Africa Each Year
When Moustapha Dieng came down with stomach pains one day last month he did the sensible thing and went to a doctor in his hometown of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital. The doctor prescribed a malaria treatment but the medicine cost too much for Dieng, a 30-year-old tailor, so he went …
your ad hereScientists to Reboot the Kilogram
What is a kilogram? And who decides its standard weight? These questions are at the center of a big debate right now. And the answer to those questions are currently stored in an obscure place in France. VOA’s Kevin Enoch takes a look at what the fuss is all about. …
your ad hereSentient Office Buildings Adjust to Workers’ Personal Comfort and Well Being
Office workers often complain that the building is either too hot or too cold. Now, engineers and architects are working on creating “sentient buildings” that can cater to the personal needs and well being of each employee in the hopes of increasing productivity. VOA’S Elizabeth Lee has this report from …
your ad hereDebut of China AI Anchor Stirs Up Tech Race Debates
China’s state-run Xinhua News has debuted what it called the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) anchor. But the novelty has generated more dislikes than likes online among Chinese netizens, with many calling the new virtual host “a news-reading device without a soul.” Analysts say the latest creation has showcased China’s …
your ad hereAt CMAs, Chris Stapleton Wins Big, Keith Urban Takes Top Prize
Chris Stapleton won the most awards at the 2018 Country Music Association Awards and had the show’s best performance, almost capping a perfect night. That was until Keith Urban surprisingly won the top prize — entertainer of the year — moments before the three-hour show wrapped Wednesday night. Urban’s actress-wife, …
your ad hereIn India, Women Turn to Apps to Avoid, Report Harassment
New web and phone apps in India are helping women stay safe in public spaces by making it easier for them to report harassment and get help, developers say. Women are increasingly turning to technology to stay safe in public spaces, which in turn helps the police to map “harassment …
your ad hereSigrid Nunez’s Novel ‘The Friend’ Wins US National Book Award
Sigrid Nunez’s “The Friend,” a meditative novel about grief, books and, not least, a Great Dane named Apollo, has won the National Book Award for fiction. Other winners Wednesday included Jeffrey C. Stewart’s “The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke” for nonfiction and Justin Philip Reed’s “Indecency” for poetry. …
your ad hereUS Lawmaker Says Facebook Cannot Be Trusted to Regulate Itself
Democratic U.S. Representative David Cicilline, expected to become the next chairman of House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, said on Wednesday that Facebook cannot be trusted to regulate itself and Congress should take action. Cicilline, citing a report in the New York Times on Facebook’s efforts to deal with a series …
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