The tiny southern African mountain nation of Lesotho made history in 2017 by becoming the first on the continent to issue licenses for the production of medical cannabis. It made history again, when it signed tens of millions of dollars worth of deals with foreign investors to develop the lucrative …
your ad hereLive Brain Donations to Help Scientists Treat Epilepsy
Epilepsy, a neurological disorder typically associated with seizures, affects millions in the United States alone. Now, patients are helping scientists find new treatments by donating living brain tissue for research. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi takes us into the operating room. …
your ad hereInequality Tour: The Real-life Sights of South Korea’s Oscar-winning ‘Parasite’
From the houses to the noodles, South Korea’s Oscar winning movie “Parasite” tells its story of a suffocating class struggle through the sights and smells of Seoul.”Parasite” made history as the first non-English language movie to win the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, prompting South Korean social media to …
your ad hereFacebook Removes Accounts in Russia, Iran With Alleged Intelligence Links
Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday removed two unconnected networks of accounts, pages, and groups “engaging in foreign or government interference,” one originating in Russia and the other one in Iran, both of which have alleged ties to intelligence services.Calling the behavior “coordinated” and “inauthentic,” Facebook’s head of security policy, …
your ad hereHigh Hopes for Lesotho’s Budding Cannabis Industry
High in the mountains of Lesotho, a green revolution is growing. The tiny mountain kingdom, which is surrounded on all sides by South Africa, made history in 2017 by being the first African country to issue licenses for the production of medical cannabis.Marijuana is not new to Lesotho — it’s …
your ad hereGerman Filmmaker Vilsmaier, Known for ‘Stalingrad,’ Dies
Joseph Vilsmaier, a German filmmaker whose striking portrayal of the Battle of Stalingrad brought home the horrors of war to a new generation, has died. He was 81.His agent confirmed Wednesday that Vilsmaier “died peacefully at his home” in Bavaria on Tuesday. Vilsmaier’s 1993 film “Stalingrad” painted a grim picture …
your ad hereCoronavirus Death Toll More than 1,100
Chinese health officials reported Wednesday the number of dead from a coronavirus outbreak has risen to more than 1,100.The National Health Commission figures included 97 new deaths and a total of 44,653 people confirmed infected since the outbreak began last month. Some experts have cast doubts about whether the total …
your ad hereAsia Catches up on AI but Digital Divide Remains Between Rich and Poor
The earliest fans of the internet wondered if it could be a democratizing technology, giving all people access to information, regardless of their income, social status, or level of freedom under their governments. Today another computer technology — artificial intelligence — raises similar questions, depending on whether it will bring …
your ad hereSamsung Unveils its New Foldable Phone, the Galaxy Z Flip
Samsung on Tuesday unveiled a new foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip, its second attempt to sell consumers on phones with bendable screens and clamshell designs.The company announced the phone at the start of a product event in San Francisco. The new phone can unfold from a small square upward …
your ad hereHere’s Where the Internet Actually Lives
Have you ever stored something in the cloud and wondered where that data goes? You might be surprised to learn it’s in a quiet residential community about 30 miles outside the capital city of Washington, where people jog or walk their dogs around human-made lakes, children’s teams practice on soccer …
your ad hereChina Struggles to Cope with Surging Numbers of Infected Coronavirus Patients
China’s health care system is struggling to cope with the surging number of patients infected by the deadly coronavirus despite that Chinese President Xi Jingping has re-emerged in public to call for greater confidence in his government. FILE – A man bowing in front of flowers and a photo of …
your ad hereDeepfakes: Silicon Valley Prepares to Battle the Latest Election Threat
Images of a reborn Princess Leia, or a youthful Robert DeNiro are bewitching illusions for movie-goers. But concern that the same technology could be weaponized to incite chaos in an election is leading to “deepfake” bans on social media, and a race to develop detection tools. Matt Dibble reports. …
your ad hereLadysmith Black Mambazo Founder Joseph Shabalala Dies at 78
The founder of the South African multi-Grammy-Award-winning music group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Joseph Shabalala, has died at age 78, the state broadcaster reported Tuesday. Shabalala died at a hospital in the capital, Pretoria, Tuesday morning, his family confirmed to local media. He is world-known for his …
your ad hereChinese Hospitals Struggle to Cope with Coronavirus Outbreak
China’s health care system is struggling to cope with the surging number of patients infected by the deadly coronavirus despite that Chinese President Xi Jingping has re-emerged in public to call for greater confidence in his government. FILE – A man bowing in front of flowers and a photo of …
your ad here‘Take Us Out of the Country’: African Students Plead for Evacuation as Coronavirus Spreads
As the death toll from the coronavirus continues to mount in China and elsewhere, thousands of African students in China count the hours hoping that their governments will evacuate them.Solomon Yohannes of Ethiopia, a third-year engineering student at Wuchang Technology University in the Wuhan region of China, the epicenter of …
your ad hereGerman Decision on Huawei 5G ‘Imminent,’ Says Ambassador
Germany’s closely watched impending decision on whether and to what extent to allow Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, to enter its next generation telecommunications infrastructure may yield a result as early as Tuesday, sources tell VOA.The decision “is imminent,” says Emily Haber, German ambassador to the United States, in answer …
your ad hereNew Coronavirus Transmissions Raise More Concerns as Deaths Surpass Those From SARS
The head of the World Health Organization’s says there are “concerning instances” of coronavirus transmission from people who have not traveled to China, a development that could mean there is a bigger problem. This comes as a WHO team of medical experts arrived in China on Monday and the death …
your ad hereSongs to Heal: Yazidi Refugees Revive 7,000-Year-Old Musical Culture
When the Islamic State terror group swept across northern Iraq in 2014, they tried to wipe out the Yazidi people, a minority ethnic group that had lived in the mountains for millennia. Thousands of men were killed, and women and girls were forcibly enslaved. The ancient Yazidi culture was at …
your ad hereAmazon Wants Trump Deposition Over Loss of Military Contract
Amazon wants to depose President Donald Trump over the tech company’s losing bid for a $10 billion military contract. The Pentagon awarded the cloud computing project to Microsoft in October. Amazon later sued, arguing that Trump’s interference and bias against the company harmed Amazon’s chances of winning the contract.The company …
your ad hereSafety Advocates in Malaysia Push for Greater Use of Child Safety Seats
While waiting for his 5-year-old twins to get out of school one afternoon, Raj Rajoo got their child safety seats ready. “My kids, their lives are very important for me so I invested in the car seats,” he said.Malaysia has been requiring the use of child safety seats — also known …
your ad hereDrugs Fail to Slow Decline in Inherited Alzheimer’s Disease
Two experimental drugs failed to prevent or slow mental decline in a study of people who are virtually destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease at a relatively young age because they inherited rare gene flaws.The results announced Monday are another disappointment for the approach that scientists have focused on for years — …
your ad hereCarnivals, Festivals Help Dispel Winter Doldrums
At this time of the year people in many countries chase away winter doldrums with cheerful festivals, costumed parades, masked balls and other traditional events. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports the carnival season has begun and will culminate on February 25th on so-called Fat Tuesday, a day before the start of …
your ad here‘Parasite’ Reflects Deepening Social Divide in South Korea
The black comedy “Parasite” is a tale of two South Korean families – the wealthy Parks and the poor Kims – mirroring the deepening inequality in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.The film made history as the first non-English language movie to win the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, prompting South Korean …
your ad hereSouth Koreans Explode With Joy Over ‘Parasite’ Oscar Wins
South Koreans reacted with rare collective joy Monday after director Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” won the Oscar for best picture and three other awards, good news that came as their country struggles to guard against a new virus and counter North Korea’s nuclear threat.The movie’s wins made history in both …
your ad hereSouth Koreans Celebrate Parasite’s Historical ‘Best Picture’ Win
South Koreans are celebrating “Parasite’s” big victory at the 92nd Academy Awards after director Bong Joon-ho took home one of the ceremony’s most prestigious accolades — the Oscar for Best Picture.After winning three other Academy Awards – Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay – Bong took …
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