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your ad hereIt’s March Madness, More People Can Legally Bet on Basketball Games
Usher, Fantasia Barrino, ‘Color Purple’ Honored at 55th NAACP Image Awards
LOS ANGELES — Usher was named entertainer of the year at the 55th annual NAACP Awards on Saturday night, which highlighted works by entertainers and writers of color. After Usher accepted his award at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the superstar R&B singer spoke about being thankful about the journey …
your ad hereExtermination Planned for Island Mice That Breed Out of Control, Eat Birds
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Mice accidentally introduced to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change, and they are eating seabirds and causing major harm in a special nature reserve with “unique biodiversity.” Now conservationists are planning a mass extermination using …
your ad hereRussian-Belarusian Band Returns to Stage After Detention in Thailand
Warsaw, Poland — A Russian-Belarusian rock band that denounces Moscow’s Ukraine invasion returned to the stage this week, voicing defiance after being detained in Thailand in January and threatened with deportation to Russia. The band, Bi-2, formed in the 1980s in Belarus when it was part of the Soviet Union, left …
your ad hereUS Sanctions Network Smuggling American Tech to Iran’s Central Bank
Washington — The U.S. Treasury Department unveiled sanctions against a network of companies and individuals for facilitating illegal technology transfers from dozens of U.S. firms to Iranian entities, including the country’s central bank. The sanctions relate to Informatics Services Corporation (ISC), the technology arm of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), …
your ad hereWhat Makes People Happy? California Lawmakers Want to Find Out
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Assemblyman Anthony Rendon likes to spend his spare time away from the Capitol in Sacramento with his 4-year-old daughter at home near Los Angeles. Last weekend, he took her ice skating and afterward to an indoor playground, then let her get a donut after she agreed to …
your ad hereNew Kind of Hospital Coming to Rural America, Without Inpatient Beds
Batteries, Green Energy Sources Combine for Major Climate Solution
Home Price Key Reason Some Voters Frustrated by US Economy
WASHINGTON — Lori Shelton can’t fathom ever having the money to buy a home — and that’s a major reason why so many voters feel down on the economy ahead of this year’s presidential election. Shelton, 67, drives an Uber to help pay rent in Aurora, Colorado. An advance on her …
your ad hereHome Buying Costs Could Fall in Big US Real Estate Group Settlement
Kenyan Doctors Strike; Patients Left Unattended or Turned Away
NAIROBI, Kenya — Doctors at Kenya’s public hospitals began a nationwide strike Thursday, accusing the government of failing to implement a raft of promises from a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017 after a 100-day strike that saw people dying from lack of care. The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists …
your ad hereNamibia to Begin HPV Vaccine Rollout in April
Windhoek, Namibia — A top Namibian health official tells VOA the southern Africa country is set to begin distribution of the HPV vaccine to adolescent girls in April as a preventative measure in the fight against cervical cancer. Namibia has a population of about 1 million women ages 15 years and …
your ad here‘Squid Game’ Star Found Guilty of Sexual Misconduct
Seoul — South Korea’s “Squid Game” actor O Yeong-su has been found guilty of sexual misconduct, a local court said Friday, after he was charged with assaulting a woman in 2017. The 79-year-old in 2022 became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor in a series for …
your ad hereAlec Baldwin Seeks Dismissal of Grand Jury Indictment in Fatal Shooting of Cinematographer
SANTA FE, N.M. — Defense attorneys for Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Thursday to dismiss a grand jury indictment against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust.” The indictment in January charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the …
your ad hereUS Senate Considers Bill That Could Ban TikTok in United States
The White House is urging senators to quickly begin considering a bill that would address national security concerns related to the social media app TikTok. The House approved the measure earlier this week. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. Camera: Saqib Ul Islam. …
your ad hereUkraine Oscar Winner Mstyslav Chernov Talks to VOA About His Film
This month’s Academy Awards ceremony saw a big first for Ukraine as Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol” won the best documentary Oscar. The film is a first-person account of being in the eastern Ukrainian city during the first weeks of Russia’s invasion. Khrystyna Shevchenko talked with Chernov. Anna Rice …
your ad hereFormer US Treasury Chief Mnuchin Looking to Buy TikTok
Observers: US Investments in Philippines Seen Easing Reliance on China
Taipei, Taiwan — During a trade mission visit to Manila this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced plans to invest more than $1 billion in the Philippines’ tech sector and help double the number of semiconductor factories in the country. Observers say the pledge and visit highlight the Southeast Asian …
your ad hereWorld’s Largest Drone Maker Expands in US Amid Rights Abuse Allegations
washington — Chinese drone maker DJI is expanding in the U.S. with its first flagship store in New York City amid allegations of links to human rights abuses and ties to China’s military. DJI’s “first concept” North American store on New York’s Fifth Avenue welcomes customers into a futuristic, minimalist space …
your ad hereMalawi Testing Genetically Modified Maize to Fight Hunger, Agricultural Pests
Malawi has embarked on trials of genetically modified maize aimed to curb recurrent hunger and pests like fall armyworms and caterpillars. The trials come amid concerns about the possible effects genetically modified organisms have on health and the environment. Lameck Masina reports from Lilongwe. …
your ad hereSpacex Hoping to Launch Starship Farther in 3rd Test Flight
BOCA CHICA, Texas — SpaceX’s Starship, a futuristic vehicle designed to eventually carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, was poised for a third uncrewed test launch Thursday that Elon Musk’s company hopes will carry it farther than before, even if it ends up exploding once again in flight. The spacecraft, …
your ad hereUS House Passes Bill Forcing TikTok to Separate From Chinese Parent Company
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would force short-video app TikTok, used by about 170 million Americans, to separate from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or face a ban. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson says the Senate may not approve the bill. …
your ad here‘Man in Iron Lung’ Dead at 78
Washington — A polio survivor known as the “man in the iron lung” has died aged 78, according to his family and a fundraising website. Paul Alexander of Dallas, Texas contracted polio at the age of six, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down and reliant on a mechanical respirator to …
your ad hereUS House Passes Bill Forcing Chinese Company to Give Up TikTok
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would force the popular TikTok video app to either separate from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance or sell the U.S. version of the software. The bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act “gives TikTok six months to eliminate …
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