Facebook said on Thursday it had disrupted an attempt to influence voters in Moldova, increasing concerns that EU elections in May could be prey to malign activity. Employees of the Moldovan government were linked to some of the activity, the California-based social media company said. Authorities in Chisnau, capital of …
your ad herePhiladelphia Mulls Supervised Injections to Cut Drug Deaths
For nearly two decades, Vancouver, the epicenter of Canada’s increasingly deadly drug epidemic, has embraced an initiative that was once dismissed as a reckless experiment but has since won over some of its fiercest critics: a walk-in facility where addicts can inject heroin under the watch of medical professionals. Allowed …
your ad here‘Digital Gangsters’: UK Wants Tougher Rules for Facebook
British lawmakers issued a scathing report Monday that calls for tougher rules on Facebook to keep it from acting like “digital gangsters” and intentionally violating data privacy and competition laws. The report on fake news and disinformation on social media sites followed an 18-month investigation by Parliament’s influential media committee. …
your ad hereChina Seizes $1.5 Billion in Online Lending Crackdown
Chinese police have investigated 380 online lenders and frozen $1.5 billion in assets following an avalanche of scandals in the huge but lightly regulated industry, the government announced Monday. Beijing allowed a private finance industry to flourish in order to supply credit to entrepreneurs and households that aren’t served by …
your ad herePuck, Goal, Sticks And A Snorkel: Underwater Hockey Stages A Comeback
The sport of hockey – where players use hockey sticks to knock a puck into a goal – is now not just limited to being played on ice or on the field. It can be played underwater too by players equipped with snorkels and fins. Underwater hockey, which first appeared …
your ad hereCarnival Season Looks to Cheer Up Gloomy Winter Days
This past weekend marked the start of the carnival season which will culminate with Mardi Gras on March 5. People around the world will attend costume parties, watch parades and enjoy abundant meals before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Christian tradition dictates observance of about six weeks of …
your ad hereNYC’s Chinatown Welcomes Year of the Pig With Vvibrant Parade
Drums, dragons and dancers paraded through New York’s Chinatown on Sunday to usher in the Year of the Pig in the metropolis with the biggest population of Chinese descent of any city outside Asia. Confetti and spectators a half-dozen or more deep at points lined the route of the Lunar …
your ad hereTrump: US Trade Talks with China Making ‘Big Progress’
President Donald Trump said Sunday “big progress” is being made in U.S. trade talks with China on what he calls “so many different fronts.” “Our country has such fantastic potential for future growth and greatness on an even higher level,” the president tweeted. Trump said last week he might put …
your ad hereFiascos and Fumbles: Oscar Organizers Stumble to Restore Glory
First it was the furor over a proposed new “popular” film category, then it was the fiasco over planned host Kevin Hart, and last month the organizers of the Oscars were accused of intimidating celebrities not to present at rival award shows. Last week, another storm erupted when, as part …
your ad hereDinosaurs Tracks Saved from Australian Floods
A team of Australian paleontologists and volunteers has saved a once-in a lifetime fossil discovery from devastating floods in Queensland state. The dinosaur tracks give a rare insight into an ancient world. Found on an outback farm near the Queensland town of Winton, 1,100 kms from Brisbane, they are estimated …
your ad herePan African Festival Connects African Diaspora Through the Arts
More than 100 artisans and 170 films from around the world are being showcased at the 27th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles. The multiday event in the largely African American neighborhood of Baldwin Hills aims to connect Africans to people of African descent from around …
your ad hereSedans Take Back Seat to SUVs, Trucks at 2019 Chicago Auto Show
It’s billed as North America’s largest and longest-running auto show, now in its 111th year. The 2019 Chicago Auto Show offers a lineup of nearly 1,000 vehicles occupying nearly 1 million-square-feet of space at the McCormick Place Convention Center. A special preview for members of the media at the annual …
your ad hereConvenience Stores are Getting Even More Convenient
The store checkout line may be a thing of the past sooner than we think. A year after Amazon opened its first store without a cashier, retailers and start-ups are competing to get similar technology in other stores worldwide, so shoppers do not have to stand in line. VOAs Deborah …
your ad hereSan Antonio Wildlife Ranch Celebrates, Protects Endangered Animals
Being surrounded by wild animals, feeding them and taking care of their little ones this is exactly what Tiffany Soechting wanted to do all her life. Anush Avetisyan met with the woman who is the human “mom” to the 500 animals that live on her family’s wildlife preserve in Texas. …
your ad hereWanted Surrogate Moms to Save Northern White Rhinos
A method millions of women have used to get pregnant could be what saves northern white rhino from extinction. Scientists are extracting eggs from southern white rhinos in European zoos as they fine-tune the IVF – in vitro fertilization – procedure. One day they plan to harvest eggs from northern …
your ad hereTrump Receives Update on China Trade Talks
President Donald Trump received an update on trade talks with China on Saturday at his Florida retreat after discussions in Beijing saw progress ahead of a March 1 deadline for reaching a deal. Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago club, was briefed in person by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, White House Chief of …
your ad hereGone in a New York Minute: How the Amazon Deal Fell Apart
In early November, word began to leak that Amazon was serious about choosing New York to build a giant new campus. The city was eager to lure the company and its thousands of high-paying tech jobs, offering billions in tax incentives and lighting the Empire State Building in Amazon orange. …
your ad hereUganda’s Controversial Curvy Women Tourism
Uganda’s junior minister for tourism this month sparked controversy by suggesting that curvy women could be promoted as a tourist attraction. Uganda earns billions of dollars from wildlife tourism. But, the idea of adding women to that list has generated heated debate about objectifying women. Halima Athumani reports from Kampala. …
your ad hereA Spiny Necked Dinosaur Wows in Argentina
The ancient world of dinosaurs was a strange and dangerous place. Many of the animals that roamed the earth during the Cretaceous period 140 million years ago were all teeth and claws and spines. But even among all this natural weaponry, the Bajadasaurus stood out. VOA’s Kevin Enochs gives us …
your ad hereGucci Vows Diversity Hiring After ‘Blackface’ Sweater
Italian fashion house Gucci announced a major push Friday to step up diversity hiring as part of a long-term plan to build cultural awareness at the luxury fashion company following an uproar over an $890 sweater that resembled blackface. Gucci also said it will hire a global director for diversity …
your ad herePayless ShoeSource to Close All Remaining US Stores
Payless ShoeSource is shuttering all of its 2,100 remaining stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, joining a list of iconic names like Toys R Us and Bon-Ton that have closed down in the last year. The Topeka, Kan.-based chain said Friday that it will hold liquidation sales starting Sunday and …
your ad hereYear in Space Put US Astronaut’s Disease Defenses on Alert
Nearly a year in space put astronaut Scott Kelly’s immune system on high alert and changed the activity of some of his genes compared with those of his Earth-bound identical twin, researchers said Friday. Scientists don’t know if the changes were good or bad, but results from a unique …
your ad hereBombshell Book Alleges Vatican Gay Subculture, Hypocrisy
A gay French writer has lifted the lid on what he calls one of the world’s largest gay communities — the Vatican, estimating that most of its prelates are homosexually inclined and attributing much of the current crisis in the Catholic Church to an internecine war among them. In the …
your ad hereAmazon’s Exit Could Scare Off Tech Companies From New York
Amazon jilted New York City on Valentine’s Day, scrapping plans to build a massive headquarters campus in Queens amid fierce opposition from politicians angry about nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and the company’s anti-union stance. With millions of jobs and a bustling economy, New York can withstand the blow, …
your ad hereRegina Is Already a King, but What About President?
So, Regina King walked into a 99-cent store. And what’d she get? A prophecy on her life. No joke. King was shopping around — “sometimes people will say, ‘You at the 99-cent store?’ I like a bargain too” — when a woman walked up to her with something of a …
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