BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — The world’s nations will wrap up negotiating a treaty this weekend to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Their meeting is scheduled to conclude Sunday or early Monday in Busan, South Korea, where many environmental organizations have flocked to push for a treaty to address the volume …
your ad hereChinese scientists rush to climate-proof potatoes
YANQING, CHINA — In a research facility in the northwest of Beijing, molecular biologist Li Jieping and his team harvest a cluster of seven unusually small potatoes, one as tiny as a quail’s egg, from a potted plant. Grown under conditions that simulate predictions of higher temperatures at the end of …
your ad hereIntimate documentary captures the Beatles goofing around as they take America by storm in 1964
NEW YORK — Likely most people have seen iconic footage of the Beatles performing on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” But how many have seen Paul McCartney during that same U.S. trip feeding seagulls off his hotel balcony? That moment — as well as George Harrison and John Lennon goofing around by …
your ad hereWill Trump’s return lead to a new wave of bestselling books?
NEW YORK — As she anticipates her estranged uncle’s return to the White House, Mary Trump isn’t expecting any future book to catch on like such first-term tell-alls as Michael Wolff’s million-selling Fire and Fury or her own blockbuster, Too Much and Never Enough. “What else is there to learn?” she …
your ad hereForeign smartphone sales in China drop 44% in October, data show
New data released Wednesday from a Chinese government-affiliated research firm showed sales of foreign-branded smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone, fell 44.25% year-on-year in China in October, while overall phone sales in China have increased 1.8%, Reuters reported. The data released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology revealed sales …
your ad hereAlarm over high rate of HIV infections among young women, girls
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.’s children’s fund raised the alarm on Friday over the high rate of new HIV infections among young women and girls, warning they lacked access to prevention and treatment. In a report ahead of world AIDS day on Sunday, UNICEF said that 96,000 girls and 41,000 boys …
your ad hereSunFed recalls cucumbers in US, Canada due to potential salmonella
Cucumbers shipped to 13 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces have been recalled because of potential salmonella contamination, the Food and Drug Administration said this week. SunFed Produce, based in Arizona, recalled the cucumbers sold between October 12 and November 26, the FDA said Thursday. No illnesses were immediately reported. …
your ad hereNotre Dame Cathedral unveils new interior 5 years after devastating fire
After more than five years of frenetic reconstruction work, Notre Dame Cathedral showed its new self to the world Friday, with rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework erasing somber memories of its devastating fire in 2019. Images broadcast live of a site visit by French President Emmanuel Macron showed …
your ad hereSome Zimbabwean farmers turn to maggots to survive drought and thrive
NYANGAMBE, ZIMBABWE — At first, the suggestion to try farming maggots spooked Mari Choumumba and other farmers in Nyangambe, a region in southeastern Zimbabwe where drought wiped out the staple crop of corn. After multiple cholera outbreaks in the southern African nation resulting from extreme weather and poor sanitation, flies were …
your ad hereWhat Black Friday’s history tells us about holiday shopping in 2024
NEW YORK — The holiday shopping season is about to reach full speed with Black Friday, which kicks off the post-Thanksgiving retail rush this week. The annual sales event no longer creates the midnight mall crowds or doorbuster mayhem of recent decades, in large part due to the ease of online …
your ad hereWHO wants bird flu surveillance stepped up
geneva — The World Health Organization on Thursday urged countries to step up surveillance for bird flu after the first case was detected in a child in the United States. A small but growing number of H5N1 avian influenza infections have been detected in humans around the world in recent years, …
your ad hereIn wake of G20, Gulf states boost ties to Brazil, Latin America
Middle East analysts are welcoming a series of agreements concluded during the recent summit in Brazil of the 20 biggest economies, saying they open new avenues for Gulf Cooperation Council states to strengthen economic relations with emerging markets across Latin America. Among other developments, Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin …
your ad hereKenyan clinics provide health care to truck drivers, sex workers
A clinic initiative in Kenya aims to provide health care to vulnerable mobile populations such as truck drivers and commercial sex workers. The goal is to combat the spread of disease across borders in Africa. Juma Majanga reports from the transit town of Mlolongo in Kenya. Camera: Amos Wangwa …
your ad hereIn photos: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Some images from the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York. …
your ad hereManhattan artist invites Americans to write postcards to US president
Since 2004, former New York Times editor and now artist Sheryl Oring has been giving Americans a chance to speak their truth to the world. Dressed in 1950s secretary attire, she invites the public to speak their mind and records it on her vintage typewriter as part of a project …
your ad hereCryptocurrency investors anticipate boom under Trump
Cryptocurrency investors have big hopes for the approaching presidency of Donald Trump, who campaigned this year as a champion of digital currencies. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. …
your ad hereHIV activist to use Charlize Theron’s Instagram for a day
Geneva, Switzerland — A young South African activist living with HIV will take over Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron’s Instagram account on World AIDS Day, the United Nations said Thursday. Ibanomonde Ngema, a 21-year-old activist, will be given the reins to the South African-born actress’s global account @charlizeafrica, with some 7.6 million …
your ad hereMexico, Canada warn Trump against raising tariffs
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that Mexico would retaliate if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump followed through with his proposed 25% across-the-board tariff, a move her government warned could kill 400,000 U.S. jobs and drive up prices for U.S. consumers. “If there are U.S. tariffs, Mexico would …
your ad hereMicrosoft faces antitrust investigation in US
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, including of its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The probe was approved by FTC Chair Lina Khan ahead of her likely departure in January. The election of …
your ad hereFrance’s farmers resume strike over South American trade deal
Protests by French and other European farmers are threatening a long-expected trade deal between the European Union and South American trading bloc Mercosur, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The EU hopes to clinch it next month — but individual EU countries would still need to ratify the agreement. U.S. …
your ad hereUS inflation gauge ticks higher with price pressures still stubborn
Washington — Consumer price increases accelerated last month, the latest sign that inflation’s steady decline over the past two years has stalled. According to the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, consumer prices rose 2.3% in October from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That is up from just 2.1% …
your ad hereTrump picks vaccine skeptic to lead top US public health department
President-elect Donald Trump says he intends to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy disagrees with much of the scientific community on subjects including vaccines and HIV/AIDS. VOA’s Anita Powell has our story. …
your ad hereOne of India’s largest conglomerates under suspicion following US fraud charges
New Delhi — Nearly two years after one of India’s biggest conglomerates was hit by allegations of wrongdoing by a U.S. investment firm, it is again in the eye of a storm as it faces charges of fraud, which analysts say are far more serious. The latest allegations by the United …
your ad hereAustralia’s House of Representatives passes bill that would ban young children from social media
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Australia’s House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban children younger than 16 years old from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalize the world-first law. The major parties backed the bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and …
your ad hereUNAIDS: upholding human rights essential for ending AIDS
HARARE, ZIMBABWE — Ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, the U.N. has released a report saying that upholding human rights is essential for ending the AIDS pandemic. The report says human rights violations, including discrimination against girls and women, and criminalization of LGBTQ+ people, obstruct efforts to end AIDS. …
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