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your ad hereUSAID helps parts of Ukraine become energy independent
Russian shelling continues to degrade Ukraine’s energy system. Some parts of the country now have access to electricity for just a few hours a day. New generators aim to help supply residents with power and hot water. Tetiana Kukurika has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …
your ad hereJapan’s top court rules forced sterilization law unconstitutional
Tokyo — Japan’s top court ruled on Wednesday that a defunct eugenics law under which thousands of people were forcibly sterilized between 1948 and 1996 was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court also declared that a 20-year statute of limitations could not be applied, paving the way for compensation claims from victims after …
your ad hereFrance’s renowned Arles photo fest goes ‘beneath the surface’
Arles, France — One of the world’s most renowned photo festivals, in the French town of Arles, returned this week with a timely ode to diversity at a moment when France is turning towards the far right. The Rencontres festival, which runs until Sept. 29, is spread across 27 venues in …
your ad hereWhat was the ‘first American novel’? On this Independence Day, a look at what it started
NEW YORK — In the winter of 1789, around the time George Washington was elected the country’s first president, a Boston-based printer quietly launched another American institution. William Hill Brown’s The Power of Sympathy, published anonymously by Isaiah Thomas & Company, is widely cited as something momentous: the first American novel. …
your ad hereRobert Towne, Oscar-winning writer of ‘Chinatown,’ dies at 89
NEW YORK — Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of “Shampoo,” “The Last Detail” and other acclaimed films whose work on “Chinatown” became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, has died. He was 89. Towne died Monday surrounded by family …
your ad hereBiden announces measures to protect against extreme weather
As the Caribbean sees its first Category 5 hurricane of the year, scientists warn that extreme weather is here to stay due to climate change. Aru Pande reports from Washington, where U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced new climate resilience measures. Kim Lewis contributed to this report. …
your ad hereFDA approves 2nd Alzheimer’s drug that modestly slows disease
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have approved another Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow the disease, providing a new option for patients in the early stages of the incurable, memory-destroying ailment. The Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s Kisunla on Tuesday for mild or early cases of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s. …
your ad hereStudy: Climate-induced disasters significantly weaken Pakistan’s societal resilience
islamabad — A new study has revealed that recent floods in Pakistan have substantially weakened its societal resilience in coping with and recovering from such disasters as the threat from climate change continues to grow. The London-headquartered independent global charity Lloyd’s Register Foundation said Tuesday the findings are part of the …
your ad hereUS will pay Moderna to develop pandemic flu vaccine
US Supreme Court to weigh in on flavored e-cigarette products
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court took up an e-cigarette case Tuesday, weighing whether the Food and Drug Administration wrongly blocked the marketing of sweet, flavored products amid a surge in vaping by young people. Vaping companies argue the FDA unfairly denied more than a million applications to market fruit or …
your ad hereLogOn: New test will be game changer in tuberculosis diagnostics
UCLA molecular bioengineer Mireille Kamariza has developed a new tuberculosis test that tackles shortcomings of existing TB diagnostics. VOA’s Genia Dulot reports for this week’s episode of LogOn. …
your ad hereSri Lanka to save $5bn from bilateral debt deal
Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka will save $5 billion following the restructure of its bilateral debt, much of which is owed to China, through slashed interest rates and longer repayment schedules, the president said Tuesday. The island nation defaulted on its foreign borrowings in 2022 during an unprecedented economic crisis …
your ad hereAlliance sets sights on minerals needed for global shift to green energy
The U.S. government’s representative to the Minerals Security Partnership, an alliance of mostly Western countries that aims to speed the development of energy mineral supply chains, said last month that a Chinese company was using “predatory” tactics to hold down the price of cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of …
your ad hereUS manufacturing contraction deepens in June
Washington — U.S. manufacturing activity edged lower in June, deepening a recent slump on continued weak demand, according to industry survey data published Monday. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing index came in at 48.5% last month, down 0.2 percentage points from May. The June data came in below market …
your ad hereEconomic turmoil in Bolivia fuels distrust in government and its claim of a ‘failed coup’
LA PAZ — Signs reading “I’m buying dollars” line the doors of Víctor Vargas’ shoe shop in the heart of Bolivia’s biggest city, a desperate attempt to keep his family business alive. Just a few years ago, the 45-year-old Vargas would unlock the doors at 8 a.m. to a crush of …
your ad hereAmazon sidesteps carbon offset standard Bezos helped fund
Panama’s traditional pollera dress faces uncertain future
Panama’s pollera is the country’s beautiful, elaborate and very expensive national dress, and one of the most recognized Latin American traditional costumes. But production of the gorgeous garment faces an uncertain future. Oscar Sulbarán explains why in this story narrated by Veronica Villafañe. (Camera: Oscar Sulbarán; Produced by: Veronica Villafañe) …
your ad hereShakespeare Library reopens in Washington with rare artifacts on display
Washington, D.C., home to the world’s largest collection of William Shakespeare’s works, has unveiled a treasure trove that most have never seen. The Folger Shakespeare Library reopened its doors after a four-year long renovation, revealing the most valuable part of its collection to the public for the first time. Maxim …
your ad hereStreet medicine teams search for homeless people to deliver lifesaving IV hydration in extreme heat
Phoenix — Alfred Handley leaned back in his wheelchair alongside a major Phoenix freeway as a street medicine team helped him get rehydrated with an intravenous saline solution dripping from a bag hanging on a pole. Cars whooshed by under the blazing 96-degree morning sun as the 59-year-old homeless man with …
your ad hereMeta risks fines over ‘pay for privacy’ model breaking EU rules
Brussels, Belgium — The EU accused Facebook owner Meta on Monday of breaching the bloc’s digital rules, paving the way for potential fines worth billions of euros. The charges against the US tech titan follow a finding last week against Apple that marked the first time Brussels had levelled formal accusations …
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