2014-12-23 Ebola Is Top Health Story for 2014
If asked, “What was the most important health story of 2014?” there would be little debate. Ebola has killed more than 6,800 people and infected more than three times that…
2014-12-23 VOA Staff Presents ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas’
The American idea of Santa Claus largely comes from a poem called “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem in 1822, but he did not put…
2014-12-25 South Africa Faces Worsening Power Outages
South Africa is facing an electricity crisis. South Africans have been experiencing a growing number of electricity “blackouts” — also known as power outages. The state-operated power company Eskom provides…
2014-12-23 UN: Fighting in Libya Threatens Countries Nearby
The United Nations is calling for international action to help improve the security situation in Libya. The U.N. says the fighting in the country threatens its neighbors. Militants supporting the…
2014-12-22 Reports Say North Korea Hit by Internet Outage
North Korea appears to be experiencing a widespread Internet outage. The cause of the outage is not clear. However, hours earlier, President Barack Obama warned that the U.S. would answer…
2014-12-22 Man Who Shot NY Police Officers Had Record of Violence, Mental Problems
A top New York City police official says the man who killed two officers Saturday had a record of violence and mental problems. Ismayyil Brinsley shot officers Wenjian Liu and…
2014-12-22 What’s the Word of the Year?
The American English dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster announces their word of the year for 2014. The word is culture. The publisher bases its choice on how many people look up the…
2014-12-21 Cambodian, Thai Rice Voted Best in the World
For the third straight year, the World Rice Conference has voted Cambodian rice as the world’s best. This year Cambodia shares the award with Thailand. Cambodia produced just one percent…
2014-12-21 How the US Deals with its Sexual Assault Problem
Sexual assault – sexual attack — happens in countries all around the world. Recent news reports about gang rapes in India and sexual violence at universities have pushed the issue…
2014-12-21 What’s the Top ‘Trending’ Search This Year?
The American-based company Google has just released its list of the top trending online searches of 2014. Google keeps records of everything Internet users enter on its search engine. The…
2014-12-21 Helping California’s Homeless
Earlier this month, California police cleared what was said to be the largest homeless encampment in the United States. About 200 homeless people were living at the camp in San…
2014-12-20 Indonesia Reports Increase in Citizens Joining Islamic State
Indonesia estimates that more than 350 of its citizens are now in Syria or Iraq to fight with Islamic State militants. That would represent an increase of 50 since last…
2014-12-20 Turkey Rejects Criticism of Raids on Opposition Media
The Turkish government recently ordered raids on media with ties to its opponents. Now the government is rejecting criticism at home and from overseas for the actions. Turkish officials say…
2014-12-19 A Los Angeles Christmas
The end of December is a time when many Americans are thinking about snow and cold weather. Yet the city of Los Angeles, California is almost always warm and sunny,…
2014-12-19 Disagreement Over Lower Mekong River Dam Project
A two-day meeting in Laos has left government officials and environmental activists deeply divided. The meeting was called to examine plans for a 260 megawatt dam on the Lower Mekong…