Vice President Mike Pence has formally sworn in in Gen. John “Jay” Raymond as the new Chief of Space Operations Tuesday at the White House.Raymond assumed the duties of the first head of the Space Force on December 20, 2019, …
Greece’s government is extending its offer of citizenship to Tom Hanks to his wife and their two children, in recognition of the family’s help in assisting victims of a deadly wildfire near Athens in 2018.Last month, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos …
The world’s oceans were the hottest in recorded history in 2019, scientists said on Tuesday, as manmade emissions warmed seas at an ever-increasing rate with potentially disastrous impacts on Earth’s climate.Oceans absorb more than 90 percent of excess heat created …
The Academy Award nomination for a Brazilian documentary about the impeachment of then-President Dilma Rousseff has once again laid bare the polarization of Latin America’s largest democracy. In “The Edge of Democracy,” 36-year-old filmmaker Petra Costa uses her …
Pollution kills three times more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, according to new estimates. It’s one of the leading causes of death. But it’s a neglected issue in most of the world, despite the enormous toll. VOA’s Steve …
Jury selection resumed Monday at the trial of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty to charges he raped a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulted another in 2006.The initial screening process, now …
Dark comic book tale “Joker” topped the Oscar nominations Monday, picking up 11 nods including best picture and best director, as women and ethnic minorities were largely shut out once again.The pre-dawn Academy Award announcement capped months of ceaseless campaigning …
The World Health Organization confirmed Monday the first case in Thailand of a new virus from the same family as SARS that is behind a Chinese pneumonia outbreak.The U.N. health agency said a person traveling from Wuhan, China, had been …
China says its diplomats and government officials will fully exploit foreign social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter that are blocked off to its own citizens. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Monday likened the government to “diplomatic agencies …
The nominees for the Academy Awards have been announced in Los Angeles. Issa Rae and John Cho announced nominees in 24 categories that honor the best achievements in films released in 2019.The nominees for best picture are: “Ford v. Ferrari”; …
China’s health officials say there is no danger that a new strain of coronavirus could cause a worldwide spread of pneumonia-like illness similar to the 2003 SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus) pandemic. More than 40 people have been diagnosed …
World health officials say an outbreak of pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan is being caused by a new strain of the virus that led to the deadly SARS outbreak over a decade ago. VOA’s Jeff Custer reports …
As part of a surprise announcement distancing themselves from the British royal family, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, declared they will “work to become financially independent” — a move that has not been clearly spelled out and could be …
Queen Elizabeth II has moved quickly to take control of the crisis surrounding the decision by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to distance themselves from the royal family, ordering royal courtiers to find a future role for …
U.S. government officials are watching and waiting, with many believing it is only a matter of time before Iran lashes out in cyberspace for the U.S. drone strike that killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani last week.According to the latest …
Two award-winning documentaries capture death and destruction in the war-torn Syrian cities of Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta through the eyes of women. Waad al-Kateab’s film “For Sama,” and Feras Fayyad’s film “The Cave,” document civilians’ struggle to survive in devastated …
American comedian, writer and director Buck Henry, who was behind one of the most influential films in history, has died of a heart attack. He was 89.The Dartmouth-educated Henry first emerged in the late 1950s, playing a puritanical character who …
President Donald Trump Thursday announced changes to a 50-year-old environmental law that he calls “broken and outdated,” but that critics say will now give developers a green light to pollute.Trump said the National Environmental Policy Act “ties up and bogs …
Vietnamese startups are heading into the new year looking to avoid the mistakes of such companies as Uber and WeWork, which disappointed investors in 2019 for failing to turn a profit after so much buildup.Investors and entrepreneurs in the communist …
The agency that oversees the United States’ nuclear arsenal says it doesn’t need to do any broad environmental reviews of a proposal that calls for ramping up production of plutonium triggers at federal installations in New Mexico and South Carolina.The …
Building a tech startup is not easy, especially in countries with less-established tech industries. Nevertheless, many global entrepreneurs are determined to succeed, and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is their chance to prove themselves to the rest …
The Trump administration on Thursday proposed greatly narrowing the use of one of the country″s landmark environmental laws, calling for changes that could allow projects ranging from oil pipelines to mines to move forward with far less federal review of …
Emmy winner Niecy Nash, the groundbreaking cast of the hit TV series “Pose,” Grammy-winning music video director Melina Matsoukas and “Captain Marvel” actress Lashana Lynch will be honored at the 2020 Black Women in Hollywood Awards.Essence Communications, the media company …
British actor Jeremy Irons will head the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival next month, organizers said Thursday.Irons will be jury president at the festival’s 70th edition, running from Feb. 20 to March 1. Other members of the jury …