The Philippines’ Catriona Gray was named Miss Universe 2018 in a competition concluding Monday in Bangkok, besting contestants from 93 other countries and delighting her home country. The 24-year-old Gray wore a sparkling red dress she said is inspired by a volcano in the Philippines as she was handed the …
your ad hereHoliday Shopping Outdoors
An outdoor holiday market in downtown Washington has become a popular annual tradition. Every holiday season for the past 14 years, small business owners from across the U.S. and overseas come to the heart of the nation’s capital to sell their crafts in a festive, village environment. Visitors from all …
your ad hereClimate Change Fuels Innovation in Kenya
With the impact of climate change an increasingly pressing global issue, a new generation of start-ups in Kenya is developing new technologies to combat global warming. As Rael Ombuor reports from Nairobi, the technologies offer both environmental and financial sustainability. …
your ad hereHQ Trivia, Vine Co-Founder Found Dead
Colin Kroll, a tech executive who was a co-founder of the popular apps HQ Trivia and Vine, was found dead Sunday in New York. Police said officers found the 34-year-old unresponsive in his apartment after receiving a call asking them to go check on him. Medical examiners are working to …
your ad hereGuinea Bissau Women Entrepreneurs Share Ideas, Expand Business
A group of young female business owners in Guinea Bissau have banded together to learn more about the business world and increase sales. A year later, their efforts appear to be paying off. Ricci Shryock reports from the west African nation. …
your ad hereDebt Threat: Business Debt, Worries About it, Are up
Homeowners appear to have learned the lesson of the Great Recession about not taking on too much debt. There is some concern that Corporate America didn’t get the message. For much of the past decade, companies have borrowed at super-low interest rates and used the money to buy back …
your ad hereResearch Looks at Natural Fertilizer for Greener Agriculture, Cleaner Water
Fertilizer is made of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Chemical fertilizers require huge amounts of energy to produce. But there are other, natural and more readily available sources. The University of Michigan, with support from the National Science Foundation, is working at making our water cleaner, and our agriculture more …
your ad hereNome, Alaska – Where Gold Seekers Go Today
About 100 years ago, the town of Nome, Alaska, was a busy place with a population of more than 20,000, most of them gold seekers. Today, fewer than 4,000 people live here and prospecting for gold is no longer the main occupation. Still many come to this town with a …
your ad hereMichigan Sand Dunes Attract Tourists, Swallow Properties
Sand dunes in the state of Michigan are a scenic attraction for many American and foreign tourists. These sand dunes expand and move. Over time, they swallow cottages and the vegetation around them, as VOA’s Emre Elci reports. …
your ad hereProject Recycles Human Urine as Fertilizer
Fertilizer is made of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Chemical fertilizers require huge amounts of energy to produce. But there are other, natural and more readily available sources. A project at the University of Michigan is aimed at making our water cleaner and our agriculture more sustainable by capturing one …
your ad hereThe Historic Place Where Literary, Political Worlds Intersect
A relatively modest, independently owned bookstore in Washington has become a standout on the cultural scene in the U.S. capital. It’s called Politics and Prose. Since opening in 1984, it’s managed to survive the age of online book buying and thrive as a magnet for some of the world’s highest …
your ad herePutin: Rap Can’t Be Banned, Must Be Controlled
Alarmed by the growing popularity of rap among Russian youth, President Vladimir Putin wants cultural leaders to devise a means of controlling, rather than banning, the popular music. Putin says “if it is impossible to stop, then we must lead it and direct it.’’ But Putin said at a St. …
your ad hereGovernments Agree on Rules for Implementing Climate Accord
After two weeks of bruising negotiations, officials from almost 200 countries agreed Saturday on universal, transparent rules that will govern efforts to cut emissions and curb global warming. Fierce disagreements on two other climate issues were kicked down the road for a year to help bridge a chasm of opinions …
your ad hereRebuilding Detroit: A Woman Who Saves Homes
Nicole Curtis is all about before and after. She purchases abandoned, broken-down buildings and renovates them, giving them a new life. Anush Avetisyan met with Nicole Curtis and learned how this single mom turned into a TV star and a godmother for Detroit’s many collapsing houses. …
your ad hereFacebook Flaw May Have Exposed Private Photos
Facebook says a software flaw may have exposed private photos of nearly 7 million users, the latest in a series of privacy issues facing the social media company. Facebook said Friday that the photo glitch gave about 1,500 software apps unauthorized access to private photos for 12 days in September. …
your ad hereStocks Plunge to 8-month Lows on Growth Fears; J&J Nosedives
Stocks staggered to eight-month lows Friday after weak economic data from China and Europe set off more worries about the global economy. Mounting tensions in Europe over Britain’s impeding departure from the European Union also darkened traders’ moods. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 563 points. On …
your ad hereJohnson & Johnson’s Stock Falls After Report on Asbestos in Baby Powder
Johnson & Johnson saw its stocks suffer their biggest drop in 16 years, following a media report that alleged the company concealed for decades that trace amounts of asbestos was in its baby powder. Shares of the U.S. pharmaceutical and cosmetics group fell 9 percent Friday, wiping out tens of billions …
your ad hereNigerian Governor: Buhari Says Economy in ‘Bad Shape’
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said the country’s economy was in “bad shape,” the governor of a northwestern state told reporters Friday after a meeting with governors from across the country. Buhari will seek a second term in an election to be held in February in which the economy is likely to be a campaign issue. …
your ad here‘Young Miracle:’ Baby Recovers from Ebola in Congo Outbreak
They call her the “young miracle.” A baby who was admitted to an Ebola treatment center just six days after birth has now recovered from the virus. Congo’s health ministry calls the baby the youngest survivor in what is now the world’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak. The ministry late Thursday tweeted …
your ad hereUrgency of Climate Talks Seen in Coal Plants, Garbage Dumps
As politicians haggle at a U.N. climate conference in Poland over ways to limit global warming, the industries and machines powering our modern world keep spewing their pollution into the air and water. …
your ad hereUrgency of Climate Talks Seen in Coal Plants, Ice
As politicians haggle at a U.N. climate conference in Poland over ways to limit global warming, the industries and machines powering our modern world keep spewing their pollution into the air and water. The fossil fuels extracted from beneath the Earth’s crust — coal, oil and gas — are transformed …
your ad hereNew Midwives, Some Male, Want to Reduce Maternal Mortality in South Sudan
More than 60 people graduated in Juba this week with diplomas in midwifery and nursing. Their goal? To reduce South Sudan’s high rate of maternal mortality. Eight men were among the 66 graduates of the Kajo Keji Health Science Institute — an unusual occurrence in South Sudan, where midwifery is …
your ad hereMaldives Asks: What’s the Point of UN Climate Talks?
The head of the Maldives delegation to the U.N. climate conference questioned on Thursday the point of the yearly summits, saying they are failing to produce meaningful results. Former President Mohamed Nasheed attended the 24th edition of the U.N. talks, being held this year in Poland and set to end Friday. …
your ad hereUS Budget Deficit Hits Record $204.9B for November
The federal budget deficit surged to a record for the month of November of $204.9 billion, but a big part of the increase reflected a calendar quirk. In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit for November was $66.4 billion higher than the imbalance …
your ad hereUN Climate Talks Produce Draft Text in Final Push
Negotiators from nearly 200 countries produced a draft text Thursday on how to implement the Paris Agreement on combating global warming, but some disputes remain with only one day left before the official end of the conference. The presidency of the climate talks in Katowice, Poland, had asked for a …
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