Matthew Perry, who starred as sarcastic-but-sweet Chandler Bing in the hit series “Friends,” has died. He was 54. The Emmy-nominated actor was found dead of an apparent drowning at his home in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times and celebrity website TMZ, which was the first to report the news.…
‘Art of War’ and Amy Schumer’s Memoir Are Among Many Books Banned in US Prisons
Tens of thousands of books are being banned or restricted by U.S. prisons, according to a new report from PEN America. The list includes titles ranging from self-help books to an Elmore Leonard novel. “The common concept underpinning the censorship we’re seeing is that certain ideas and information are a threat,” said the report’s lead…
EducationUSA Offers Services for International Students
U.S. News & World Report takes a look at EducationUSA, a network of advising centers supported to the U.S. State Department. Its mission is to help students who want to study in the U.S. According to the story, EducationUSA has some 430 advising centers in more than 175 countries and territories. The centers can help…
Getting a US Student Visa: Here’s How
Kharbarhub.com, a news site from Nepal, walks international students through the process of getting a U.S. student visa in this article. It includes information about applying and interviewing for a visa. Read the full story here. (October 2023) …
Can Digital Learning Save Higher Ed?
As colleges become battlegrounds for U.S. politics, and face declining enrollments, educators are worried that they have lost the American public’s trust. One way to fix this might be to expand access to online degrees. Michael D. Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, argues that academics should embrace digitization as a means of saving…
Amid War in the Middle East, Tensions Grow on US Campuses
Student activists in the U.S. have long championed both the Israeli and Palestinian causes. Amid the war between Israel and Hamas, many students report feeling threatened for their opinions. Activists claim to have been doxed (when your identity is unwillingly leaked to the public) and threatened online. Douglas Belkin and Melissa Korn speak to students affected…
Nobel Prize in Medicine Winner a ‘Patron Saint’ to ‘Undervalued, Unappreciated and Unrecognized’
Katalina Karikó won the award for helping pioneer mRNA technology, which was used to develop the COVID-19 vaccine. Before that, she fled authoritarian Hungary, failed to earn tenure and toiled as an underpaid research assistant for years, with few taking her ideas seriously. Yet she never gave up on her research. In this op-ed for…
US University Education Expensive but Within Reach for Foreign Students
Students can expect to pay $40,000 to $80,000 per academic year to attend a four-year American college or university, but there are ways to drastically reduce costs if you are an international student set on studying in the U.S. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has more. Camera: Adam Greenbaum, Saqib Ul Islam …
‘Guaranteed Admission’ Could Expand College Access
Sonoma State University, a public institution in California, is offering guaranteed admission to any high school student who meets the minimum academic standards. In doing so, it joins university systems like the State University of New York, which sent 125,000 automatic acceptance letters last year. The scheme could expand access to education by reaching students…
Chinese Sci-Fi Steps Into Spotlight
Once effectively banned, Chinese science fiction has exploded into the mainstream, embraced by the government and public alike — inviting scrutiny of a genre that has become known for its expanding diversity and relative freedom. Its new status was epitomized by this week’s Worldcon, the world’s oldest and most influential sci-fi gathering, which closed Sunday…
Hit Netflix Thriller Examining Justice in Nigeria, Boon for Nollywood
A Nigerian action thriller that tells a gripping story of corruption and police brutality in Africa’s most populous country has reached record viewership numbers on Netflix charts globally. It’s a reminder of the power and potential of Nigeria’s rapidly growing film industry. “The Black Book” has taken the streaming world by storm, spending three weeks…
Hollywood Actors Strike Hits 100 Days; What’s Next?
While screenwriters are busy back at work, film and TV actors remain on picket lines, with the longest strike in their history hitting the 100-day mark Saturday after talks broke off with studios. On the same day, the actors’ union and an alliance representing major studios announced in a joint statement that negotiations will resume…
Catholic Women Speak Up as ‘Patriarchal’ Church Debates Its Future
“Ordain women priests!” Not far from the Vatican, where hundreds of Catholics have gathered to debate the future of the Church, purple-clad activists make their voices heard against the “patriarchy”. The place of women in the Catholic Church — led for 2,000 years by a man, which outlaws abortion and female priests and does not…
Drought in Brazil’s Amazon Reveals Ancient Engravings
An extreme drought in parts of the Amazon has led to a dramatic drop in water levels in the river, exposing dozens of usually submerged rock formations with carvings of human forms that may date back some 2,000 years. Livia Ribeiro, a longtime resident of the Amazon’s largest city, Manaus, said she heard about the…
Bobby Charlton, Manchester United and England Soccer Great, Dies at 86
Bobby Charlton, an English soccer icon who survived a plane crash that decimated his Manchester United team and became the heartbeat of his country’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, has died. He was 86. A statement from Charlton’s family, released by United, said he died Saturday surrounded by his family. An extravagantly gifted midfielder with a…
National Museum of Women in the Arts Reopens in DC
The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. reopened to the public on October 21 after a two-year and $70 million renovation. Karina Bafradzhian has the story. Camera: David Gogokhia …
To Get Into an MBA Program, Learn Storytelling From Fiction Writers
Part of competitive collegiate admissions is crafting a compelling narrative about yourself, and part of sales is telling a story about your product and why it matters. Businesses and graduate schools are turning to professional storytellers to help. Marlena Corcoran has some of their insights in Forbes. (October 2023) …
Student Clashes on US College Campuses Over the Israel-Hamas War
The Israel-Hamas war has animated students on college campuses across the United States. As young people voice their opinions, there are questions of safety, free speech rights and even future job prospects. VOA’s Tina Trinh reports from New York …
What’s That Bar Band Playing ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’? Oh, it’s the Rolling Stones!
Those miracles of modern science, the Rolling Stones, celebrated the release of their first album of original music in 18 years with a Manhattan club gig on Thursday. Before a celebrity-strewn audience of invited guests that included Christie Brinkley, Elvis Costello and Trevor Noah at Racket NYC, the Stones made a notable racket themselves over…
STEM Students Need More Introspection, Less Information
Andrew Raupp, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) educator, contends that STEM degrees prioritize cramming facts over the thoughtful, questioning Socratic method once common in the humanities. Read the op-ed in Newsweek. (October 2023) …
Putin Accuses IOC of ‘Ethnic Discrimination’ Against Russians
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the International Olympic Committee of “ethnic discrimination” ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, from which Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from competing under their national flags. The IOC still has to make a final ruling on whether athletes from Russia and Belarus, a key ally for Moscow in its…
US Military Academy Sued Over Race-Based Admissions
The group that successfully won a landmark college affirmative action lawsuit earlier this year is suing to end raced-based admissions at the United States Military Acadamy at West Point. According to a report from CNN, the conservative group Students for Fair Admissions is asking that the academy be prohibited from considering or knowing an applicant’s…
Through the Lens: Social Media Inspires Japanese Women to Dash Into Rickshaw Pulling
TOKYO — Rickshaw puller Yuka Akimoto is one of a handful of women who have chosen to pull rickshaws in Tokyo, attracted to the male-dominated profession through social media, which in turn has given some of these female pullers a strong local and international following. When the 45-minute tour comes to an end, the 21-year-old…
Report: About 14,000 Nigerian Students Study in US
A TVC News Nigeria report says that about 14,000 Nigerian students are currently studying in the United States, and more would like to join them. But they need information about schools and the proper processes to follow. (September 2023) …
West African Painter Shows Portraits in American West
West African artist Amoaka Boafo has a new exhibit of portraits in the Western U.S. state of Colorado. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns has our story …
International Student Orientation Smooths Way for Newcomers at Wesleyan U.
Janhavi Munde, a student from India, writes about her experiences going through international student orientation at Wesleyan University in the U.S. state of Connecticut. “We were all away from home, we were all converting kilometers to miles on a daily basis, and we would all make jokes about American food and deportation as our go-to,”…
Million-Dollar Comic Books on Sale at New York Comic Con
Since 2006, comic book fans have gathered at the legendary New York City Comic Con to dress up and shop. More recently, they have gathered to invest. Aron Ranen has the story from the Big Apple. …
Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ Dances to No. 1 at Box Office
Movie theaters turned into concert venues this weekend as Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes across the country. The unparalleled enthusiasm helped propel “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” to a massive, first place debut between $95 million and $97 million in North America, AMC Theatres said Sunday. It’s easily the biggest…