This year’s Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah for his body of work detailing the refugee experience and how colonialism shaped African culture. At a news conference at the Swedish Academy’s headquarters in Stockholm, Permanent Secretary Mats Helm said Gurnah received the award for …
your ad hereGoogle to Invest $1 Billion in Africa Over Five Years
Google plans to invest $1 billion in Africa over the next five years to ensure access to fast and cheaper internet and will back startups to support the continent’s digital transformation, it said on Wednesday. The unit of U.S. tech company Alphabet Inc made the announcement at a virtual event …
your ad hereAmericans Being Warned of Deadly Fake Medication
Americans are being warned to beware of potentially deadly fake prescription pills that are laced with the powerful opioid fentanyl and the highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine. The counterfeit tablets are linked to a wave of drug overdoses killing unsuspecting users. In its first warning in six years, the Drug Enforcement Administration …
your ad hereUS Rolls Out New Cybersecurity Requirements for Rail, Air
The United States is taking new steps to make sure the country’s air and surface transportation sectors will not be crippled by ransomware or cyberattacks. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the measures Tuesday at a virtual cybersecurity conference, warning that recent incidents such as the SolarWinds hack and the …
your ad hereAmazon’s Twitch Hit by Data Breach
Amazon.com Inc.’s livestreaming e-sports platform Twitch said Wednesday that it had been hit by a data breach. It gave no details. An anonymous hacker claimed to have leaked Twitch data, including information related to the company’s source code, clients and unreleased games, according to Video Games Chronicle, which first reported …
your ad hereWHO Backs Malaria Vaccinations for African Children
The World Health Organization recommended Wednesday that children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions on the continent with moderate-to-high malaria transmission receive a malaria vaccine. The vaccine, known as Mosquirix, proved effective in a pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019. …
your ad hereGerman, American Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Wednesday awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to two scientists for their work – independently – in developing a new way of building molecules, a process with applications throughout industry. Speaking in Stockholm, academy Secretary General Goran Hansson said chemists Benjamin List of …
your ad hereFacebook Called On to Answer Criticism About Negative Effects
Facebook is in the hot seat again. A recent Wall Street Journal report cites internal knowledge of its harmful effects and the company’s reticence to act. A whistleblower, a former Facebook employee, came out in public this week to testify against the social media company, only adding to the scrutiny. …
your ad hereIn America: Remembering Lives Lost to COVID
COVID-19 has killed more Americans than the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919. One artist is determined that the more than 700,000 lives lost will not be forgotten. VOA’s Amy Hybels has the story. Camera: Amy Hybels …
your ad hereUS Lawmakers Pillory Social Media Giant Facebook
Key U.S. lawmakers pilloried social media giant Facebook on Tuesday after Frances Haugen, an inside whistleblower who once worked at the company, alleged that Facebook’s products are harming young people, undermining democracy and helping to divide the country politically. Haugen, who worked as a Facebook project manager for less than …
your ad hereUS Justice Department Renews Inquiry Into FBI’s Failures in Larry Nassar Probe
The U.S. Justice Department has launched a fresh inquiry into the FBI’s botched handling of its sex abuse investigation into disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, after previously declining to prosecute the agents involved, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said on Tuesday. “The recently confirmed assistant attorney general for …
your ad hereRussian Soyuz Spacecraft with Actor, Director Arrives at ISS
The crew of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft was welcomed aboard the International Space Station Tuesday, though a communications glitch during their final approach delayed their eventual boarding. The Soyuz spacecraft was launched Tuesday from the Russian spaceport in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The ship was carrying a history-making crew, as it included …
your ad hereUS Senator: Facebook Whistleblower’s Allegations Should Be Investigated by Regulators
Facebook took another pounding in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday and a senator called on federal regulators to investigate accusations by a whistleblower that the company pushed for higher profits while being cavalier about user safety. In an opening statement to a Senate Commerce subcommittee, chair Senator Richard Blumenthal, a …
your ad hereThree Share Nobel Prize for Physics for Work on Climate Change
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Tuesday announced the Nobel prize in physics goes to three scientists for their work in helping to understand complex physical systems, work that has proved valuable in quantifying and predicting climate. At a Stockholm news conference, the academy’s Secretary General Goran K. Hansson and …
your ad hereTelemedicine Proves Its Worth During the Pandemic
The pandemic is changing how many of us access health care. In the United States and elsewhere, studies show that virtual medical appointments are effective, help patients manage their care and keep people out of hospitals. More from VOA’s Carol Pearson. …
your ad hereStudy: Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine 90% Effective Against Hospitalization for Up to Six Months
A new study reveals the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is 90% effective at keeping someone from being hospitalized from the virus up to six months after receiving the second dose. Researchers from Pfizer and U.S.-based health care consortium Kaiser Permanente observed the records of about 3.4 …
your ad hereCleanup Continues of Massive California Oil Spill
Workers continue to clean up a massive oil spill off the coast of California as divers try to learn why an underwater pipeline started leaking late last week. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles. …
your ad hereUNICEF: Pandemic Worsens Mental Health Disorders in Children
The U.N. Children’s Fund says children are likely to suffer most from the monthslong COVID-related restrictions, school closures, and separation from family and friends. The latest estimates show more than one in seven adolescents aged 10 to 19 suffer from mental health disorders globally, while nearly 46,000 adolescents commit suicide …
your ad hereOfficials Seek Cause of Oil Spill off US’s California Coast
Officials investigating one of California’s biggest oil spills were trying to determine whether the undersea pipeline that spewed 572,807 liters (126,000 gallons) of heavy crude into the Pacific Ocean had been damaged by a ship’s anchor. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the two busiest container ports …
your ad hereBiden Lifts Abortion Referral Ban on Family Planning Clinics
The Biden administration on Monday reversed a ban on abortion referrals by family planning clinics, lifting a Trump-era restriction as political and legal battles over abortion grow sharper from Texas to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Department of Health and Human Services said its new regulation will restore the federal …
your ad hereAt 24, Palestinian Photographer Is Youngest Winner of Journalism Award
A woman walks alone past bombed-out windowless buildings in Gaza, black high heels on gray rubble. This image of life during conflict was one of several captured by a young Palestinian photojournalist in May. The striking set of images has earned Fatima Shbair the 2021 Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism …
your ad hereFacebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Suffering Outages
An outage has left millions of people around the world unable to use Facebook along with its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms to connect with friends, family and others. “We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products. We’re working to get things back to normal as …
your ad here‘Captain Kirk’ Heading to Space
Actor William Shatner, best known for his portrayal of space explorer Captain James T. Kirk in the “Star Trek” television series, announced he will travel to space later this month. Shatner, 90, will blast off October 12 aboard a Blue Origin rocket. Blue Origin is the space travel company of …
your ad hereShang-Chi Asian Marvel Film Delayed Indefinitely in China
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the latest Marvel film, is unique in that it features a largely Asian cast. The film has received a warm welcome by audiences in Asian countries. The film’s release, however, has been indefinitely postponed in China. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more …
your ad hereUS Duo Win Nobel Medicine Prize for Heat and Touch Work
US scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian on Monday won the Nobel Medicine Prize for discoveries on receptors for temperature and touch, the jury said. “The groundbreaking discoveries… by this year’s Nobel Prize laureates have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses …
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