Every year, the Mother Tongue Film Festival, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, showcases films about indigenous cultures that celebrate cultural and linguistic diversity. Most of these films have been made in indigenous languages from all over the world. …
Month: March 2020
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Friday he is stepping down from the company’s board to focus on philanthropy.Gates was Microsoft’s CEO until 2000 and since then has gradually scaled back his involvement in the company he started with Paul Allen …
Nepal’s government announced Friday that it was suspending climbing permits for Mount Everest and all of the other peaks in the country due to concern over the spread of the coronavirus.The decision effectively shuts down the world’s tallest mountain since …
Over 60,000 people have been confined to four towns in Spain’s first mandatory lockdown as infections for the new coronavirus increase sharply, putting a strain on health services and pressure on the government for more action. The situation …
U.S. hospitals are preparing for the unknown as COVID-19 spreads in the U.S. They are taking the best practices from hospitals elsewhere and tweaking their own practices. VOA’s health reporter Carol Pearson explains. …
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter Friday morning that there will soon be COVID testing “on a very large scale basis.” He added that “All the Red Tape has been cut,” but he did not give any details or …
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is quarantining himself at home after his wife exhibited flu-like symptoms. Trudeau’s office said Thursday that Sophie Gregoire Trudeau returned from a speaking engagement in Britain and had mild flu-like symptoms, including a …
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted multiple religious faiths to change or cancel services as houses of worship try to help contain the disease. But some church leaders are also tackling another task: communicating a message that elevates both faith and …
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos and the European Space Agency have decided to postpone the launch of a joint research mission to Mars until the fall of 2022 because of the situation around coronavirus in Europe, Roscosmos said on Thursday.”…The parties …
A Las Vegas wedding with an Elvis impersonator: Canceled. A 3,500-kilometer (2,200-mile) trans-America road trip, a voyage of a lifetime that took months to prepare: On ice, too.The new anti-virus travel ban announced by U.S. President Donald Trump threw Europeans’ …
Scientists are calling on UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to declare a unique coral reef system off the Egyptian coast a Marine World Heritage Site. So far, the location has resisted the effects of climate change bleaching coral reefs …
The new coronavirus can live in the air for several hours and on some surfaces for as long as two to three days, tests by U.S. government and other scientists have found.Their work, published Wednesday, suggests that the virus can …
Which disease is the most contagious per person? Here’s a comparison, based on scientific data. …
One of the United States’ top disease experts says Americans and Europeans should be prepared not to do the things they could do just a few months ago before the coronavirus outbreak.”It doesn’t matter if you’re in a state that …
Faced with the spread of COVID-19, the U.K. is advising its citizens to keep calm and carry on. For some Britons, the stiff upper lip is starting to wobble. As Italy goes into lockdown and other European countries …
Coronavirus is most dangerous to the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Since the first fatalities in the US originated from a nursing facility in the state of Washington, there is deep concern among health experts, patients and their …
A barber in Beijing is supporting his wife and child by charging food and other expenses to a credit card while he waits for his employer’s shop to reopen. A waiter at a barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, washes …
A SpaceX cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, delivering the company’s 20th batch of gear and treats.The Dragon capsule reached the orbiting lab after launching late Friday night. NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir used …
Vietnamese authorities vowed Monday to punish anyone concealing sickness after 13 people caught the deadly new coronavirus on a flight to Hanoi, sparking lockdowns and panic-buying in the capital.The Southeast Asian country had previously reported only 16 cases of the …
Comparatively speaking, Americans are heavier than the rest of the world. The World Factbook of the Central Intelligence Agency reports the obesity rate in the United States to be 36 percent. But 25-year-old Zobaida Falah is hoping that her homemade …
A southern Indian state has begun a three-day bird culling process to contain an outbreak of avian influenza, also known as bird flu.Kerala state began the precautionary measure Sunday.The World Health Organization says, “Avian influenza viruses normally spread between birds. …
Weeks after Beijing was criticized by people inside China and around the world for a sluggish response to the outbreak of a new coronavirus, China’s government is trying to recast itself as a global health leader.China’s early response to the …
Like many Americans, bartender Danjale Williams is worried about the growing threat of the novel coronavirus. What makes the 22-year-old in Washington even more frightened: The thought of medical bills she just can’t afford, as one of almost 27.5 million …
Passengers aboard a cruise ship off the California coast were instructed to stay in their cabins as they awaited test results Friday that could show whether the coronavirus is circulating among the more than 3,500 people aboard. A …