Wednesday marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Coinciding with the day, the United Nations is calling for action to eliminate the procedure by 2030. The U.N. estimates at least 200 million girls and women alive …
Month: February 2019
A patient is being tested for Ebola at a hospital in Philadelphia, although officials don’t believe the patient has the potentially deadly illness. Penn Medicine says preliminary testing at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania indicates the person has …
Rwanda said on Tuesday it had signed a $400 million deal to produce bottled gas from Lake Kivu, which emits such dense clouds of methane it is known as one of Africa’s “Killer Lakes.” The project by Gasmeth Energy, owned …
When he was younger, the only thing that Enrique Morales knew about marijuana was that you smoked it to get high. Today, the former driver is a horticulturist on a cannabis plantation about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of …
It turns out our Milky Way galaxy is truly warped, at least around the far edges. Scientists in China and Australia released an updated 3D map of the Milky Way on Tuesday. They used 1,339 pulsating stars — young, …
Doctors at two Cairo hospitals will pin blue ribbon badges to the clothing of newborn baby girls on Wednesday as they launch a campaign to persuade parents in Egypt to “say no to female genital mutilation.” The country has the …
Californians are bracing for what could be the next big earthquake. Scientists have developed a new early warning system relying on sensors and an algorithm to help prepare. Deana Mitchell reports. …
A special airlift for thousands of baby flamingos is under way in South Africa, as drought puts their breeding ground in peril. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. A warning, some of the images in her report may be disturbing. …
Rich and zesty or low fat and vegan? Clever marketing with mouth-watering words can boost sales of plant-based dishes by more than 70 percent, experts said Tuesday, amid a drive to cut meat intake to improve human and planetary health. …
Radiologists, who typically interact little with patients, can play a key role in identifying victims of abuse by spotting patterns of injuries that point to domestic violence, researchers said Tuesday. Abuse victims, most often women, have more face, skull and …
As Asian-Americans across the U.S. mark the Lunar New Year on Tuesday, they can celebrate by eating Mickey Mouse-shaped tofu, sporting a pair of Year of the Pig-inspired Nike shoes and by snacking on pricey cupcakes. The delicacies and traditions …
Zambia’s profitable copper mining industry is making its citizens poor, an explosive new report by a southern African research organization says. The report by Southern Africa Resource Watch examined conditions in the community around one mine in northwestern Zambia, where …
Zimbabwe’s public teachers are alleging intimidation as they try to launch a nationwide strike for better salaries. Some urban teachers tell The Associated Press that riot police are guarding classrooms, while public service inspectors are moving around and marking attendance …
The World Bank may be poised for a shake-up with President Donald Trump planning to nominate David Malpass, a Trump administration critic, to lead the institution focused on global poverty. Malpass’ selection was confirmed by a senior administration official …
Failure to meet global climate goals could lead to warming of five degrees celsius in the Himalayan mountains and a loss of two-thirds of the region’s glaciers by the year 2100, with disastrous consequences for water supplies and food production for …
Negotiating new World Trade Organization rules to try to rein in China’s “mercantilist” trade practices would be largely a futile exercise, the Trump administration’s trade office said on Monday, vowing to pursue its unilateral approach to protect U.S. workers, farmers …
Brazil’s government has opened discussions with congressional leaders, state governors and mayors on a pension reform bill that would set the minimum retirement age for men and women at 65, a government official said on Monday. The proposal is one …
Long before she became just one of the financially destitute legions of street sweepers that dot Moscow’s bitterly cold winter landscape, Shaknoza Ishankulova had simply wanted to do the right thing. It was 2008, and the recent Uzbekistan National University …
February 4 is designated as World Cancer Day, and the disease remains one of the world’s leading causes of death. Last year, there were close to two million new cases of cancer worldwide and more than 600-thousand people died of …
Chronic pain is the most common reason people give when they enroll in state-approved medical marijuana programs. That’s followed by stiffness from multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-related nausea, according to an analysis of 15 states published Monday in the journal …
A federal bankruptcy judge approved a major debt restructuring plan for Puerto Rico on Monday in the first deal of its kind for the U.S. territory since the island’s government declared nearly four years ago that it was unable to …
Facebook, trudging through its awkward teenage years, is turning 15 on Monday. Launched in 2004 as “TheFacebook,” the service was originally intended only for Harvard students. It’s now a massive global business that connects some 2.3 billion users. It …
Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada and faces possible extradition to the United States, is exploring a defense that claims U.S. charges against her are politically motivated, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Monday. Meng, the …
Pushpa Ithal may not fit the stereotype of the typical Silicon Valley CEO — she’s female, foreign-born, and a mother. Nevertheless, Ithal is an entrepreneur, living the Silicon Valley dream of running her own startup. Like her, many foreign-born tech …