The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says the wheat seeds it recently provided to farmers in northeast Syria meet “high standards for safety and quality.” The announcement comes after claims by the Syrian government that the seeds donated by …
“I could not understand how this highly educated, powerful trauma nurse is now the patient.” A registered nurse who asks that we call her “Gi” is talking about herself. While working in the emergency room of her community hospital at …
Most Americans don’t have oysters on their Thanksgiving table, but, for a time, the mollusks were a key ingredient on the White House holiday menu. “Oyster stuffing and various oyster elements were always included, especially in the later 19th century. Oysters were very popular,” says …
China was behind one of the biggest hacks of all time, quietly stealing email and data from organizations, according to the U.S. and other nations’ governments. Experts say China-orchestrated attacks on strategic targets have increased in recent years. Michelle Quinn …
“NFT” is 2021’s “Word of the Year,” Collins Dictionary announced Wednesday. NFT is an abbreviation for non-fungible token, which according to the dictionary is “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record ownership of an …
For the Smithsonian’s 175th anniversary, the 140-year-old Arts and Industries Building that has been closed for renovation since 2004 is reopening temporarily with an exhibition called Futures. The exhibition explores what our future may look like. Karina Bafradzhian visited the …
The U.S. space agency NASA has launched a spacecraft on a mission to test the ability to knock an asteroid off a potentially harmful collision course with Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will take 10 months to reach the …
CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for U.S. city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies …
Apple says it is suing Israeli NSO Group, maker of the controversial Pegasus spyware. Apple will be the second company to sue NSO after Facebook, now Meta, sued over similar concerns that Pegasus was targeting WhatsApp users. Meta owns WhatsApp. …
Jon Batiste might be the Grammys biggest surprise: The multi-genre performer and recent Oscar winner made such an impression on voters that he scored the most nominations with 11 on Tuesday. Batiste earned an album of the year nod for …
Amid growing speculation on the whereabouts of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, China’s Foreign Ministry warned against politicizing and speculating about the star’s wellbeing. “This is not a diplomatic matter,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press …
The shutdown of internet access via mobile phone networks that began Saturday dragged on for a fourth day Tuesday. The government said in a statement the shutdown is in the interest of national defense and public security and will last until around 10 p.m. tonight. VOA talked to some Burkinabes on the streets …
The U.S. space agency, NASA, and its European counterpart, the European Space Agency (ESA), have delayed the long-awaited launch of the James Webb space telescope to no earlier than December 22. In statements, both agencies say the launch is being …
A SpaceX rocket was set to blast off from California late Tuesday as NASA seeks to demonstrate a first-of-its-kind planetary defense system, designed to deflect an asteroid from a potential doomsday collision with Earth. The DART mission will test NASA’s …
A mission is underway to retrieve scientific data from the rugged ocean floor in the Southern Ocean, formerly known as the Antarctic Ocean, that could explain what triggers underwater earthquakes and tsunamis. Some of the world’s most violent underwater earthquakes …
The Port-au-Prince international jazz festival, traditionally held in late January, has been postponed indefinitely because of gang violence that has plagued the Haitian capital for months, event organizers said Monday. “We can’t take the risk, either for the 150 musicians or for …
A U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics would deal a blow to Seoul’s attempts to resume diplomacy with North Korea, experts said. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden said that his administration was “considering” a diplomatic boycott of the …
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that disrupts communication between the brain and the body. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry talks to a woman diagnosed with the disease about her journey to find a healthier life and learn about …
A Sydney restaurant is using a Chinese-made, multi-lingual hospitality robot to address chronic staff shortages as Australia’s economy begins to recover from COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures. The robot waiter is programmed to know the layout of the tables and delivers food …
For many musicians, like storytelling superstar Adele, the order of songs on an album is a matter of the keenest concern, affecting how a narrative is presented, how listeners react and ultimately how many albums are sold. That is a …
Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s philanthropic organization will help 18 small news publishers in the country to negotiate collectively with Google and Facebook to secure licensing deals for the supply of news content. Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation on Monday said it …
The top U.S. infectious disease expert on Sunday urged millions of Americans who already are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to get booster shots “to optimize their status.” To date, 34.5 million of the 196 million fully vaccinated people in the …
As coronavirus infections hit Ukraine, a single shift for Dr. Oleksandr Molchanov now stretches to 42 hours — 24 of them in Kakhovka’s hospital, followed by another 18 hours spent visiting tents set up to care for 120 COVID-19 patients. …
Police arrested seven rioters in The Hague on Saturday night after youths set fires in the streets and threw fireworks at officers. The unrest came a day after police opened fire on protesters in Rotterdam amid what the port city’s …