Sidney Poitier, who broke through racial barriers as the first Black winner of the best actor Oscar for his role in Lilies of the Field, and inspired a generation during the civil rights movement, has died at age 94, an official from the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. Eugene …
your ad hereUS Supreme Court Reviews COVID Vaccine Mandates
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled Friday to hear oral arguments against two of President Joe Biden’s administration’s COVID-19 vaccine policies issued by government agencies to combat the deadly coronavirus. The policies “are critical to our nation’s COVID-19 response,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. The …
your ad hereBeauty is Only Skin Deep in China ‘Micro-procedure’ Craze
Midday queues snake out to the street in an upmarket Shanghai neighborhood, but it’s not lunch at the city’s hottest restaurant that people are lining up for — it’s cosmetic “micro-procedures”, which are surging in popularity in China. The “lunchtime facelift” and other “medical aesthetics” procedures are booming as a …
your ad hereFormer Biden Health Officials Urge New Approach to Fighting COVID
Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, six former health advisers for U.S. President Joe Biden are urging a different approach to fighting it. Writing Thursday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, the advisers wrote three articles urging Americans to learn to live with the virus in a …
your ad hereScientists Explore Thwaites, Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday’ Glacier
A team of scientists is sailing to “the place in the world that’s the hardest to get to” so they can better figure out how much and how fast seas will rise because of global warming eating away at Antarctica’s ice. Thirty-two scientists on Thursday are starting a more than …
your ad herePeter Bogdanovich, Director of ‘Paper Moon,’ Dead at 82
Peter Bogdanovich, the ascot-wearing cinephile and director of 1970s black-and-white classics like The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, has died. He was 82. Bogdanovich died early Thursday morning at his home in Los Angeles, said his daughter, Antonia Bogdanovich. She said he died of natural causes. Considered part of a generation …
your ad hereAustralia Detains Serbian Tennis Star Djokovic Over COVID-19 Visa Breaches
World tennis No.1 Novak Djokovic has had his visa canceled by Australian authorities and is facing deportation. He had received a COVID-19 vaccination exemption to defend his title at the Australian Open but has reportedly failed to provide proper evidence to border officials. The Serbian is the defending Australian Open …
your ad hereWHO Says New Coronavirus Variant in France Not a Threat – Yet
The World Health Organization says a new coronavirus variant recently detected in France is nothing to be concerned about right now. Scientists at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Foundation in the city of Marseille say they discovered the new B.1.640.2 variant in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the …
your ad hereA Season of Joy — and Caution — Kicks Off in New Orleans
Vaccinated, masked and ready-to-revel New Orleans residents will usher in Carnival season Thursday with a rolling party on the city’s historic streetcar line, an annual march honoring Joan of Arc in the French Quarter and a collective, wary eye on coronavirus statistics. Carnival officially begins each year on Jan. 6 …
your ad hereAustralia Detains Serbian Tennis Star Over COVID-19 Visa Breaches
World tennis No.1 Novak Djokovic has had his visa canceled by Australian authorities and is facing deportation. He had received a COVID-19 vaccination exemption to defend his title at the Australian Open but has reportedly failed to provide proper evidence to border officials. The Serbian is the defending Australian Open …
your ad hereOmicron Is Milder Than Delta But Nothing to Sneeze At
Omicron may not cause as much lung damage as the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, according to new lab studies. That, plus vaccination, may help explain why patients with omicron are not being hospitalized or dying as often as patients infected with previous variants. But omicron is still killing …
your ad hereGrammy Organizers Postpone Awards, Cite Omicron Risks
The Grammy Awards were postponed Wednesday due to what organizers called “too many risks” due to the omicron variant. No new date has been announced. The ceremony had been scheduled for January 31 in Los Angeles with a live audience and performances. The Recording Academy said it made the decision “after careful …
your ad hereUS Advisers Endorse Pfizer COVID Boosters for Younger Teens
Influential government advisers are strongly urging that teens as young as 12 get COVID-19 boosters as soon as they’re eligible, a key move as the U.S. battles the omicron surge and schools struggle with how to restart classes amid the spike. All Americans 16 and older are encouraged to get …
your ad hereGovernments Worldwide Continue Imposing COVID Measures, 2 Years After Pandemic’s Start
Exactly two years after the World Health Organization issued an alert about “a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause” in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that evolved into the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world is now struggling under the weight of the fast-moving omicron variant of the …
your ad hereRoyal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Cancel Voyages Amid Omicron Scare
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled sailings amid rising fears of omicron-related coronavirus infections that have dampened the nascent recovery of the pandemic-ravaged cruise industry. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise for January 6 after nine guests on its January 2 …
your ad hereRio de Janeiro Cancels Street Carnival Parade for 2nd Consecutive Year Amid Omicron Outbreak
Exactly two years after the World Health Organization issued an alert about “a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause” in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that evolved into the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world is now struggling under the weight of the fast-moving omicron variant of the …
your ad hereBiden Doubles Order of COVID Pills to Fight Omicron
President Joe Biden has directed his administration to buy an additional 10 million courses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, bringing the total to at least 20 million courses, as part of his strategy to combat omicron. He addressed the American public Tuesday as COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surge to …
your ad hereBiden Touts Deal Delaying 5G Rollout by AT&T, Verizon
President Joe Biden touted an agreement Tuesday between wireless carriers and U.S. regulators to allow the deployment of 5G wireless technology in two weeks. AT&T and Verizon said Monday they would delay activating the new service for two weeks following a request by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. He cited airline …
your ad hereWildlife Rangers Use AI to Predict Poachers’ Next Moves
Rangers protecting threatened wildlife in Cambodia are using artificial intelligence to predict poachers’ next moves. Matt Dibble reports. …
your ad hereOff-Season ‘Cover’ Crops Expand as US Growers Eye Low-Carbon Future
Illinois farmer Jack McCormick planted 350 acres of barley and radishes last fall as part of an off-season crop that he does not intend to harvest. Instead, the crops will be killed off with a weed killer next spring before McCormick plants soybeans in the same dirt. The barley and …
your ad hereFamous Australian Skin Cancer Ad Returns to the Airwaves
On the 40th anniversary of a famous skin cancer campaign, research has revealed that a high number of young Australians are not using sun protection. Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. A new multi-million-dollar awareness campaign hopes to repeat the success of the …
your ad hereAmbulance Service for Poor Helps Residents of Nairobi’s Largest Slum
A community health service in Africa’s largest urban slum is helping poor people get affordable emergency services during the COVID pandemic. The Kibera community emergency response team in Nairobi is offering a $1 monthly fee for access to emergency services, including an ambulance. Victoria Amunga has more from Nairobi. Camera: …
your ad hereMali Capital’s Modernization, Growth Threaten Traditional Urban Architecture
Mali is well known for its mudbrick Sudano-Sahelian architecture, which is also seen in buildings in the capital, Bamako, one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. But rapid modernization is also threatening the unique structures and the face of the city, as Annie Risemberg reports from Bamako. …
your ad hereWorld’s Largest Consumer Electronics Show Goes Hybrid
It’s a chaotic time for the Consumer Electronics Show 2022, the world’s largest technology event. Last-minute COVID-19-related cancellations have wreaked havoc on the organizers’ plans to host exhibitors and welcome visitors in person in Las Vegas and online. But as VOA’s JulieTaboh reports, the show will go on. …
your ad hereFears for Australia’s Famous Migrating Moth
Conservationists are blaming climate change, land clearing and pesticides for the population crash of one of Australia’s most famous insects. Once a common sight, bogong moths have become rare in recent years. They are now recognized as endangered by the world’s leading scientific authority on vulnerable species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The bogong …
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