Lebanon is considering banning the “Barbie” movie because the culture minister said the film “promotes homosexuality” and contradicts religious values, in a move that some experts say underscores the poor state of free speech and gay rights in the country and throughout the Middle East. Mohammad Mortada, Lebanon’s culture minister, moved …
your ad hereUS Suicides Hit All-Time High Last Year
About 49,500 people took their own lives last year in the U.S., the highest number ever, according to new government data posted Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which posted the numbers, has not yet calculated a suicide rate for the year, but available data suggests suicides are …
your ad hereFans in India Rejoice as Superstar Actor Rajinikanth’s Latest Movie Hits Theaters
Fans of an Indian movie star with a cult following thronged movie theaters and celebrated with dancing and prayers as his latest film hit screens on Thursday. Hundreds of avid supporters of Rajinikanth, one of India’s biggest movie superstars, carried photo cutouts and flower garlands as they made their way …
your ad hereRussia Launches Its First Moon Mission Since ’76
Russia launched its first mission to the moon in nearly 50 years on Friday, racing to land on the lunar south pole before a spacecraft from India gets there. The launch of the Luna-25 craft to the moon was Russia’s first since 1976, when it was part of the Soviet …
your ad hereUS Hospital Pharmacists Ration Drugs as Shortages Persist, Survey Shows
Nearly a third of U.S. hospital pharmacists say they were forced to ration, delay or cancel treatments as drug shortages in the United States approach an all-time high, according to a survey released Thursday. The shortages are especially critical for chemotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment regimens, with more …
your ad hereTraditional Medicine Takes Center Stage at WHO Meeting in India
The World Health Organization says traditional medicine plays a pivotal role in the health and well-being of people and the planet and should be seen as complementary to modern medicine and be integrated into national health systems. Traditional healers have used their knowledge of plants and potions for centuries to …
your ad hereVirgin Galactic Flies Its First Tourists to the Edge of Space
Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space with its first tourists Thursday, including a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean. The space plane glided back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, after …
your ad hereEmmys Pushed to January as Hollywood Strikes Press On
The 75th Emmy Awards ceremony is postponed to Jan. 15, the Television Academy and broadcast network Fox said on Thursday, as Hollywood writers and actors strike over labor disputes with major studios. The Emmys were originally slated to air on Fox on Sept. 18, and nominations for the highest honors …
your ad hereSeattle Volunteers Help Museum of Flight Mural Gain Liftoff
When faced with the task of painting a giant mural at Seattle’s Museum of Flight, artist Esmeralda Vasquez found it was best not to do it alone. More than 160 volunteers helped out, as reported in this story by VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya. …
your ad hereParis Plans Dramatic Transformation to Cope With Warming Temperatures
Paris’ escape from record temperatures gripping parts of Europe this summer could be a short-term reprieve. A study finds the city could have the most heatwave-related deaths of any European capital by 2050 — when temperatures may soar to 50 C (122 F). For VOA, Lisa Bryant has more from …
your ad hereChina to Require all Apps to Share Business Details in New Oversight Push
China will require all mobile app providers in the country to file business details with the government, its information ministry said, marking Beijing’s latest effort to keep the industry on a tight leash. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said late on Tuesday that apps without proper filings …
your ad here‘Searching for Sugar Man’ Singer, Songwriter Sixto Rodriguez Dies at 81
Sixto Rodriguez, who lived in obscurity in the U.S. only to find musical success in South Africa and a stardom he was unaware of, died Tuesday in Detroit. He was 81. Rodriguez’s music career flamed out early in the U.S., but it took off after the singer and songwriter became …
your ad hereGuitarist, Songwriter Robertson of The Band Dies at 80
Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight” and “Up on Cripple Creek” mined American music and folklore and helped reshape contemporary rock, died Wednesday at 80. Robertson died in Los Angeles, surrounded by family, “after a long illness,” publicist Ray Costa said …
your ad hereUS CDC Sees No Major Shift in COVID Variants
Currently spreading COVID-19 variants such as EG.5, or Eris, do not represent a major shift in COVID variants, and updated vaccines in September will offer protection, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. “Right now, what we’re seeing with the changes in the viruses, …
your ad hereUS Launches Contest to Use AI to Prevent Government System Hacks
The White House on Wednesday said it had launched a multimillion-dollar cyber contest to spur use of artificial intelligence to find and fix security flaws in U.S. government infrastructure, in the face of growing use of the technology by hackers for malicious purposes. “Cybersecurity is a race between offense …
your ad hereUS to Restrict High-Tech Investment in China
U.S. President Joe Biden is planning Wednesday to impose restrictions on U.S. investments in some high-tech industries in China. Biden’s expected executive order could again heighten tensions between the U.S., the world’s biggest economy, and No. 2 China after a period in which leaders of the two countries have held …
your ad hereIndonesia’s Capital Named World’s Most Polluted City
Indonesia’s capital Jakarta topped the list as the world’s most polluted city on Wednesday, having consistently ranked among the 10 most polluted cities globally since May, according to data by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir. Jakarta, which has a population of over 10 million, registers unhealthy air pollution …
your ad hereHealth Conditions Deteriorate as More People Flee Sudan
U.N. agencies warn health conditions are deteriorating in Sudan and neighboring countries as growing numbers of people flee escalating fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Before the conflict erupted on April 15, 4.5 million Sudanese already were displaced — more than 3.7 million inside Sudan …
your ad hereAustralian Study Warns of Air Conditioning Health Fears
Darwin, the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, can be brutally hot and humid. Many of its 150,000 residents seek refuge from the tropical elements in air-conditioned homes, offices and cars. But research from the Australian National University, the ANU, suggests that air-conditioning, which is often set at 21 degrees …
your ad herePreserving Pioneering Work of Black Modernist Architects
Modernist structures designed by African Americans targeted for preservation …
your ad hereGlobal Average Temperature Hits Record High in July
The World Meteorological Organization says the global average temperature for July 2023 is confirmed to be the highest on record for any month. “The month is estimated to have been around 1.5 degrees warmer than the average for 1850 to 1900s. So, the average of pre-industrial times,” said Samantha Burgess, …
your ad hereZoom, Symbol of Remote Work Revolution, Wants Workers Back in Office Part-time
The company whose name became synonymous with remote work is joining the growing return-to-office trend. Zoom, the video conferencing pioneer, is asking employees who live within a 50-mile radius of its offices to work onsite two days a week, a company spokesperson confirmed in an email. The statement said the …
your ad hereUS COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising, but Not Like Before
Here we go again: COVID-19 hospital admissions have inched upward in the United States since early July in a small-scale echo of the three previous summers. With an updated vaccine still months away, this summer bump in new hospitalizations might be concerning, but the number of patients is far lower …
your ad hereBotswana Seeks Pharmacists From Abroad After Nurses Halt Dispensing Medications
Botswana is aiming to recruit at least 1,000 pharmacists, some from abroad, after nurses said they would no longer dispense medications. Nurses stopped filling prescriptions to patients last month, with the Botswana Nurse Union saying that doing so was outside their scope of work. The situation has led to congestion …
your ad hereLogOn: Police Recruit AI to Analyze Police Body-Camera Footage
U.S. police reform advocates have long argued that police-worn body cameras will help reduce officers’ excessive use of force and work to build public trust. But the millions of hours of footage that so-called “body cams” generate are difficult for police supervisors to monitor. As Shelley Schlender explains, artificial intelligence …
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