ABUJA, Nigeria — Weeks of flooding have killed 185 people in Nigeria and washed away homes and farmlands, the country’s disaster management agency said, further threatening food supplies, especially in the hard-hit northern region. The floods, blamed on poor infrastructure and badly maintained dams, have displaced 208,000 people in 28 of …
your ad hereBrazil’s block on X comes into effect after judge’s order
Brasilia, Brazil — A block on Elon Musk’s X social network in Brazil started to take effect early Saturday after a Supreme Court judge ordered its suspension, according to AFP. Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the suspension of the platform following a monthslong standoff with the …
your ad hereVanuatu ancestral relics, trafficked as art to New York, return home
High rents are forcing small businesses in into tough choices
NEW YORK — While many costs have come down for small businesses, rents remain high and in some cases are still rising, forcing many owners into some uncomfortable decisions. “Every time the rent goes up, we have to raise prices, to keep up with the cost,” said Adelita Valentine, owner of …
your ad hereWasn’t polio wiped out? Why it is still a problem in some countries
LONDON — Polio was eliminated from most parts of the world as part of a decadeslong effort by the World Health Organization and partners to wipe out the disease. But polio is one of the world’s most infectious diseases and is still spreading in a small number of countries. The WHO …
your ad hereAfrica’s mpox outbreaks could be stopped in 6 months, WHO chief says
geneva — The head of the World Health Organization believes mpox outbreaks in Africa might be stopped in the next six months, and he said Friday that the agency’s first shipment of vaccines should arrive in Congo within days. To date, Africa has received a small fraction of the vaccines needed …
your ad herePalestinian TikTok star dies in Israeli airstrike
CAIRO — It was another day of war in Gaza, another day of what 19-year-old Palestinian TikTok star Medo Halimy called his “Tent Life.” As he often did in videos documenting life’s mundane absurdities in the enclave, Halimy on Monday walked to his local internet cafe — rather, a tent with …
your ad hereIran’s crackdown on nurses’ protests prompts concern from US, global nurses’ federation
Smartwatch insults Chinese as authorities struggle to tame AI
Washington — Technology analysts say a Chinese company’s smartwatch directs racist insults at Chinese people and challenges their historic inventions, showing the challenges authorities there face in trying to control content from artificial intelligence and similar software. A parent in China’s Henan Province on August 22 posted on social media the …
your ad hereX platform suspended in Brazil amid Brazilian judge’s feud with Musk
SAO PAULO — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of the decision seen by The Associated Press. The move further escalates …
your ad hereIsrael gives go-ahead for Gaza polio vaccination campaign
Geneva — World Health Organization officials say Israel has given United Nations agencies the go-ahead to start inoculating hundreds of thousands of young Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip against polio. A mass polio vaccination campaign to immunize more than 640,000 children under the age 10 against the crippling disease is …
your ad hereLowest euro zone inflation in 3 years sets up ECB for cut
FRANKFURT/TALLINN — Inflation in the euro zone fell to its lowest level in three years in August, setting the stage for a further cut in the European Central Bank’s interest rates next month despite an Olympics-driven surge in the price of services. The ECB has started winding down a two-year campaign …
your ad hereNY nonprofit reclaims centuries-old cemetery for enslaved people
KINGSTON, New York — On a residential block in upstate New York, college students dug and sifted backyard dirt as part of an archeological exploration this summer of a centuries-old cemetery for African Americans. Now covered with green lawns in the city of Kingston, this spot in 1750 was part of …
your ad hereFrance charges Telegram boss over illegal content, prompting warnings from Russia
The arrest in France last Saturday of Pavel Durov, the billionaire boss of the social media platform Telegram, is reverberating around the world as Russia urges France not to turn the investigation into ‘political persecution.’ Durov is under formal investigation over alleged illegal activities on Telegram, as Henry Ridgwell reports. …
your ad hereWHO: Israel agrees to daily pauses in Gaza for polio vaccinations
United Nations — A senior World Health Organization official said Thursday that Israel has agreed to a series of daily nine-hour humanitarian pauses for the duration of a massive polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip, where the first case of the disease was found in a baby earlier this month. …
your ad hereStarlink’s Botswana entry hailed as ‘game-changer’ amid concern over costs
Gaborone, Botswana — The entry of Elon Musk’s Starlink into the Botswana market this week has been hailed as a “game-changer.” Analysts concur the introduction of the satellite internet service provider will improve internet access but there is concern over subscription costs and the service potentially pushing local internet providers out …
your ad hereAlleging illegal content, France charges Telegram boss; Russia gives warning
London — Russia on Thursday warned France not to turn the investigation of Pavel Durov, the boss of Telegram, into a “political persecution” after the billionaire 39-year-old CEO was put under formal investigation relating to activities on his social media platform. Moscow has implied there are political motivations behind the arrest …
your ad hereUS second quarter growth stronger than estimated, government says
Washington — The U.S. economy expanded more than initially estimated in the second quarter this year, the Department of Commerce said Thursday, on stronger consumer spending than originally anticipated. The world’s biggest economy grew at an annual rate of 3.0% in the April-to-June period, up from 2.8% according to an earlier …
your ad hereSnakehead fish: The invasive species disaster that wasn’t
Invasive plants and animals disrupt food supplies, carry diseases and cause an estimated $423 billion in damage every year around the world. When an Asian fish called the snakehead invaded waterways near Washington, experts warned it might devour the competition and upset of the ecosystem. But, as VOA’s Dora Mekouar …
your ad hereTelegram boss’ lawyer dismisses probe against Durov as absurd
PARIS — A lawyer for Telegram boss Pavel Durov, who is being investigated in France, said it was “totally absurd” to suggest the head of a social network was responsible for any criminal acts committed on the platform, French media said. A French judge put Durov under formal investigation on Wednesday, …
your ad hereFAA grounds SpaceX after rocket falls over in flames
French authorities issue preliminary charges against Telegram messaging app CEO
PARIS — French authorities handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation. Both free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken out in Durov’s defense since his weekend arrest. The case has …
your ad hereChina’s summer movie ticket sales nearly halved amid sluggish economy
WASHINGTON — Movie ticket sales in China have generated more than $1.5 billion so far this summer, a little more than half of last year’s record total of $2.89 billion, according to China’s Film Data Information Network, an institution directly under the Central Propaganda Department. Summer is usually one of three …
your ad hereSecond elephant calf in 2 weeks is born at California zoo
FRESNO, Calif. — The second elephant calf in two weeks has been born at a California zoo. African elephant Amahle gave birth early Monday morning, according to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The event came 10 days after Amahle’s mother, Nolwazi, gave birth to another male calf. The new additions are the …
your ad herePakistan’s internet to remain slow into October, regulator says
ISLAMABAD — Slow internet speeds that have frustrated Pakistanis for several weeks may persist more than a month while repairs to a faulty submarine internet cable continue, the country’s telecom regulator announced Wednesday. Internet speed and connectivity have been spotty across much of Pakistan since at least July, with users increasingly …
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