This year, the films nominated for a foreign language Oscar include Ajami, an Israeli movie that features non-professional Israeli actors -- both Arab and Jewish. The film is set in Ajami, a neighborhood of Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv. The community is...
In The Hague, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has resumed his own defense in his war crimes trial for what he called Serbias just and holy cause against Muslim aggression during the war in Bosnia in the 1990s. But nearly 20 years after it...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel hopes to begin peace negotiations with the Palestinians next week, during a visit by U.S. envoy George Mitchell. Mr. Netanyahu spoke to his Cabinet a day after the Arab League endorsed indirect peace talk...
Suicide bombers have attacked two polling stations in Baghdad, killing at least seven soldiers, while an explosion near another voting place not yet in use took the lives of seven civilians. The blasts occurred as early voting got under way for Sunda...
Researchers at Stanford University in California say acupuncture can be an effective weapon against depression in pregnant women. Depression can pose serious health risks to mother and baby, according to Rachel Manber, a Stanford University psychiatr...
The dengue virus is spread through the bite of an infected female Aedes egypti mosquito. The disease causes flu-like symptoms, including high fever, muscle aches and sometimes death. Each year, the disease strikes between 50 and 100 million people li...
LASIK eye surgery is used to correct people's vision and end their need for glasses or contact lenses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the procedure 15 years ago. But now, a former government regulator is publicly expressing concerns a...
Same-sex couples can now legally marry in the Washington, D.C.. The U.S. capital's new law allowing homosexual couples to marry took effect Wednesday after much controversy. Outside Washington's Superior Court House, members of the media congregated...
Conditions in the world's grain markets today are similar to those during the food price crisis of 2007-2008, according to the head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. FAO chief Jacques Diouf tells VOA another food price crisis is possible...
As Kenya becomes increasingly wired to the Internet, problems are cropping up regarding security and safety. Of particular concern are dangers about exploitation and harassment of children. To that end, a children's organization, the Kenyan governmen...
Among Morocco's poor, few are more destitute and disenfranchised than the estimated 15,000 sub-Saharan Africans who've become stranded there on their way to Europe. Ignored by Moroccans, rejected by the government, the migrants have few allies. In th...
As New Delhi prepares to host the 11-day Commonwealth Games in October, the city is undergoing an unprecedented $6 billion building boom and beautification campaign. Much of the work is being done by more than 400,000 contract daily wage workers who...
The government of Malaysia knows that, in the current global economic situation, it must innovate to survive. Its traditional manufacturing base is threatened by competition from lower-wage countries. The country is promoting a new economic model tha...
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday in Brazil she doubts Iran will negotiate seriously about its nuclear program unless the U.N. Security Council approves new sanctions against it. Clinton held talks in Brasilia with Brazil's Presi...
South Africa President Jacob Zuma says international sanctions against Zimbabwe should be lifted. In recent weeks the European Union and the United States voted to extend sanctions against South Africa's neighbor. But President Zuma says Zimbabwe's p...
