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A new occupation has emerged in the United States: professional cuddler. While to some the idea might sound strange, scientists from the Miami Touch Research Institute say they are not surprised at the demand for such services. The institute says that’s because the American culture is one of the most touch-averse in the world. Anush Avetisyan has more on this story.
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China has warned that any agreements with Washington in their talks on settling a sprawling trade dispute “will not take effect” if threatened U.S. sanctions including tariff hikes go ahead.
The statement Sunday came shortly after delegations led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and China’s top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, held another round of talks on China’s pledge to narrow its trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more American goods.
The Chinese statement said the two sides made “positive and concrete progress,” but neither side released details.
The statement said, “If the United States introduces trade sanctions including increasing tariffs, all the economic and trade achievements negotiated by the two parties will not take effect.”
Ross said U.S. and Chinese officials have discussed specific American export items Beijing might buy as part of its pledge to narrow its trade surplus with the United States.
The two sides began a new round of talks in Beijing this weekend aimed at settling a simmering trade dispute.
Ross gave no details at the start of his meeting Sunday with Liu, China’s top economic official. But Chinese envoys promised after the last high-level meeting in Washington in mid-May to buy more American farm goods and energy products.
President Donald Trump is pressing Beijing to narrow its politically volatile surplus in trade in goods with the United States, which reached a record $375.2 billion last year. He’s threatening to hike duties on up to $150 billion of Chinese imports.
“Our meetings so far have been friendly and frank, and covered some useful topics about specific export items,” Ross said.
Ross was accompanied by agricultural, treasury and trade officials. Liu’s delegation included China’s central bank governor and commerce minister.
There was no indication whether the talks also would take up American complaints that Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies regarding their technology. The White House renewed a threat this week to hike duties on $50 billion of Chinese technology-related goods over that dispute.
Private sector analysts say that while Beijing is willing to compromise on its trade surplus, it will resist changes that might threaten plans to transform China into a global technology competitor.
Ross had a working dinner Saturday evening with Liu, also at the same guesthouse in Beijing.
China has promised to “significantly increase” purchases of farm goods, energy and other products and services. Still, Beijing resisted pressure to commit to a specific target of narrowing its annual surplus with the United States by $200 billion.
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China has warned that any agreements with Washington in their talks on settling a sprawling trade dispute “will not take effect” if threatened U.S. sanctions including tariff hikes go ahead.
The statement Sunday came shortly after delegations led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and China’s top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, held another round of talks on China’s pledge to narrow its trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more American goods.
The Chinese statement said the two sides made “positive and concrete progress,” but neither side released details.
The statement said, “If the United States introduces trade sanctions including increasing tariffs, all the economic and trade achievements negotiated by the two parties will not take effect.”
Ross said U.S. and Chinese officials have discussed specific American export items Beijing might buy as part of its pledge to narrow its trade surplus with the United States.
The two sides began a new round of talks in Beijing this weekend aimed at settling a simmering trade dispute.
Ross gave no details at the start of his meeting Sunday with Liu, China’s top economic official. But Chinese envoys promised after the last high-level meeting in Washington in mid-May to buy more American farm goods and energy products.
President Donald Trump is pressing Beijing to narrow its politically volatile surplus in trade in goods with the United States, which reached a record $375.2 billion last year. He’s threatening to hike duties on up to $150 billion of Chinese imports.
“Our meetings so far have been friendly and frank, and covered some useful topics about specific export items,” Ross said.
Ross was accompanied by agricultural, treasury and trade officials. Liu’s delegation included China’s central bank governor and commerce minister.
There was no indication whether the talks also would take up American complaints that Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies regarding their technology. The White House renewed a threat this week to hike duties on $50 billion of Chinese technology-related goods over that dispute.
Private sector analysts say that while Beijing is willing to compromise on its trade surplus, it will resist changes that might threaten plans to transform China into a global technology competitor.
Ross had a working dinner Saturday evening with Liu, also at the same guesthouse in Beijing.
China has promised to “significantly increase” purchases of farm goods, energy and other products and services. Still, Beijing resisted pressure to commit to a specific target of narrowing its annual surplus with the United States by $200 billion.
…
China is warning the United States any trade and business agreements between the two countries will be void if President Donald Trump carries out his threats to impose tariff hikes and other trade measures.
The warning came after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He ended a new round of talks Sunday in Beijing aimed at settling a simmering trade dispute, in which Beijing pledged to buy more American products to narrow its trade surplus with the United States. The Chinese trade surplus reached $375 billion last year.
No joint statement was issued and neither side released details.
“Our meetings so far have been friendly and frank,” Ross said at the start of the talks, “and covered some useful topics about specific export items” China might buy.
Chinese envoys had promised after the last high-level meeting in Washington in mid-May to buy more American farm goods and energy products.
Ross was accompanied by agricultural, treasury and trade officials.
Liu’s delegation included China’s central bank governor and commerce minister.
There was no indication whether the talks also took up American complaints that Beijing steals from or pressures foreign companies.
Trump is threatening to hike duties on up to $150 billion of Chinese imports, with Beijing vowing to retaliate in kind.
The White House renewed a threat last week to hike duties on $50 billion of Chinese technology-related goods in that dispute.
The state-run Chinese newspaper Global Times contended in an editorial that, “Tariffs and expanding exports – the United States can’t have both. China-U.S. trade negotiations have to dig up the two sides’ greatest number of common interests, and cannot be tilted toward unilateral U.S. interests.”
While the U.S.-China trade and tariff disputes remain unresolved, Trump last week imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico, angering three key U.S. allies who vowed to retaliate by imposing new duties on American goods.
Trucks can be used for so much more than transporting goods from one place to another. They can be transformed into restaurants, mobile health clinics … even a concert hall.
That’s what two young pianists have done with their truck as they work to make classical music more accessible to a wider range of audiences.
The Concert Truck
Nick Luby came up with the idea for the Concert Truck, says his partner, Susan Zhang. “He went sailing with his grandfather,” she says. “When they would dock, they would go to certain churches where he could practice (piano). While he was practicing, people would gather because they were curious about what he was playing.”
Though people can listen to music anywhere, on radio, TV or on their earphones with MP3 players, Luby says nothing is like listening to live music.
“When you listen to live music there is energy they just can’t get from recordings.” He adds, “It brings people together. For me it makes life worth living.”
But for Zhang, the idea of using a truck to bring live music to different locations was a bit unsettling at first.
“When he came to me with the idea, I thought he was crazy,” she recalls. “Then, I watched this movie, ‘Chef,’ about a chef who has a food truck and he travels across the country and I thought that kind of life would be so cool, so I decided to go in on this with him.”
The next step was to get funding.
“We started by winning a Creativity in Music Award from our university in South Carolina,” Luby says. “That was matched by the Performing Art Consortium. They provide some financing for artists to perform or to apply for schools and competitions. And the piano is a generous loan from Jordan Kitts Music, which is a piano store in Rockville, Maryland.”
That was two years ago, and they’ve been performing ever since.
A different experience
Zhang admits that performing from a truck, in the middle of street traffic and noise, can be challenging.
“Usually when you perform in a concert hall, everything is very controlled, everybody is quiet, the lighting,” she says. “In a place like this, anything could happen. When I start performing, I really don’t notice a lot of the things that happen. I think there is definitely a kind of endurance you gain from performing on a truck.”
And the artists don’t take it personally when people pass by and don’t stay to listen.
“When people walk by and listen for a second and keep going you definitely notice, but the fact that someone stops even for a second or a minute is really a nice thing to be able to share that moment with people,” Luby says.
On a recent day, the performance is in front of a farmers market in Baltimore, where Luby and Zhang are both high school music teachers. With their rented piano tightly stored aboard the truck, the duo head downtown. The 5-meter-long Concert Truck is equipped with speakers and lights, and takes only a few minutes to transform into a stage.
The music draws a lunchtime crowd, including Reba Cornman, who was buying some herbs from the farmers market.
“All of a sudden, I heard (Sergei) Prokofiev’s ‘Cinderella’ played on piano,” Cornman says. “I love Prokofiev! I came right over and sit down. It was extraordinary. I know they’re trying to reach all kinds of audiences and being on a truck is such a remarkable way to do that.”
Baltimore Farmers Market manager Jill Ciotta worked with Luby and Zhang to bring their Concert Truck to the market. She considers the performing experience part of the healthy focus the market, which is run by the University of Maryland’s Medical Center, tries to promote in downtown.
“We’re always open on bringing in things that make it better and bigger and really draw people outside, get moving, walking, and get healthy food. I’d love to see more performances here, I’d love to see them attracting more people, employees, students and neighbors, and getting them to enjoy the outdoors,” Ciotta said.
Performing on the road
The Concert Truck has performed in schools, children’s homes and homeless shelters, in addition to public squares in several cities in South Carolina, Ohio, Maryland and Minnesota. These trips, Luby says, bring him closer to his dream, “to create a platform that allows musicians, not just us but many musicians, to share their craft and their art broadly.”
That dream is what keeps Luby and Zhang energized, and on the road, bringing the Concert Truck and classical music to new audiences.
…
Trucks can be used for so much more than transporting goods from one place to another. They can be transformed into restaurants, mobile health clinics … even a concert hall.
That’s what two young pianists have done with their truck as they work to make classical music more accessible to a wider range of audiences.
The Concert Truck
Nick Luby came up with the idea for the Concert Truck, says his partner, Susan Zhang. “He went sailing with his grandfather,” she says. “When they would dock, they would go to certain churches where he could practice (piano). While he was practicing, people would gather because they were curious about what he was playing.”
Though people can listen to music anywhere, on radio, TV or on their earphones with MP3 players, Luby says nothing is like listening to live music.
“When you listen to live music there is energy they just can’t get from recordings.” He adds, “It brings people together. For me it makes life worth living.”
But for Zhang, the idea of using a truck to bring live music to different locations was a bit unsettling at first.
“When he came to me with the idea, I thought he was crazy,” she recalls. “Then, I watched this movie, ‘Chef,’ about a chef who has a food truck and he travels across the country and I thought that kind of life would be so cool, so I decided to go in on this with him.”
The next step was to get funding.
“We started by winning a Creativity in Music Award from our university in South Carolina,” Luby says. “That was matched by the Performing Art Consortium. They provide some financing for artists to perform or to apply for schools and competitions. And the piano is a generous loan from Jordan Kitts Music, which is a piano store in Rockville, Maryland.”
That was two years ago, and they’ve been performing ever since.
A different experience
Zhang admits that performing from a truck, in the middle of street traffic and noise, can be challenging.
“Usually when you perform in a concert hall, everything is very controlled, everybody is quiet, the lighting,” she says. “In a place like this, anything could happen. When I start performing, I really don’t notice a lot of the things that happen. I think there is definitely a kind of endurance you gain from performing on a truck.”
And the artists don’t take it personally when people pass by and don’t stay to listen.
“When people walk by and listen for a second and keep going you definitely notice, but the fact that someone stops even for a second or a minute is really a nice thing to be able to share that moment with people,” Luby says.
On a recent day, the performance is in front of a farmers market in Baltimore, where Luby and Zhang are both high school music teachers. With their rented piano tightly stored aboard the truck, the duo head downtown. The 5-meter-long Concert Truck is equipped with speakers and lights, and takes only a few minutes to transform into a stage.
The music draws a lunchtime crowd, including Reba Cornman, who was buying some herbs from the farmers market.
“All of a sudden, I heard (Sergei) Prokofiev’s ‘Cinderella’ played on piano,” Cornman says. “I love Prokofiev! I came right over and sit down. It was extraordinary. I know they’re trying to reach all kinds of audiences and being on a truck is such a remarkable way to do that.”
Baltimore Farmers Market manager Jill Ciotta worked with Luby and Zhang to bring their Concert Truck to the market. She considers the performing experience part of the healthy focus the market, which is run by the University of Maryland’s Medical Center, tries to promote in downtown.
“We’re always open on bringing in things that make it better and bigger and really draw people outside, get moving, walking, and get healthy food. I’d love to see more performances here, I’d love to see them attracting more people, employees, students and neighbors, and getting them to enjoy the outdoors,” Ciotta said.
Performing on the road
The Concert Truck has performed in schools, children’s homes and homeless shelters, in addition to public squares in several cities in South Carolina, Ohio, Maryland and Minnesota. These trips, Luby says, bring him closer to his dream, “to create a platform that allows musicians, not just us but many musicians, to share their craft and their art broadly.”
That dream is what keeps Luby and Zhang energized, and on the road, bringing the Concert Truck and classical music to new audiences.
…
Classical music is often thought of as an elite art, usually performed in concert halls to a dedicated, dressed up audience. But two young pianists are working hard to make this style of music more accessible to wider audiences. As Faiza Elmasry tells us, to do that, they’re offering free performances on a mobile stage, The Concert Truck. Faith Lapidus narrates.
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Classical music is often thought of as an elite art, usually performed in concert halls to a dedicated, dressed up audience. But two young pianists are working hard to make this style of music more accessible to wider audiences. As Faiza Elmasry tells us, to do that, they’re offering free performances on a mobile stage, The Concert Truck. Faith Lapidus narrates.
…
Britain will not sign a trade agreement with the United States that is not in the country’s best interests, Trade Minister Liam Fox said Saturday after European Union officials filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over stiff U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
“If we can’t come to an agreement that we believe is in the interests of the United Kingdom, then we wouldn’t be signing any trade agreement,” Fox said Saturday in an interview with BBC radio.
Fox’s comments came one day after European Union officials submitted a formal complaint to the WTO, the first in a series of retaliatory actions, including possible tariffs, against the U.S. Fox said the tariffs are “illegal” and that British Prime Minister Theresa May would raise the issue at the Group of Seven meeting next week in Canada.
Trans-Atlantic and North American trade tensions escalated when the U.S. imposed on Friday a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico. The U.S. also negotiated quotas or volume limits on other countries, such as South Korea, Argentina, Australia and Brazil, instead of tariffs.
In a separate dispute, China is prepared to target billions of dollars in U.S. products, many of which come from America’s agricultural heartland, where Trump enjoys strong voter support.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in Beijing Saturday in an attempt to avert an all-out trade war between the world’s two largest economies. On China’s target list are U.S. soybean farmers, who export about 60-percent of their soybeans to China.
A dairy farmer who also grows soybeans in the midwestern state of Nebraska, Ben Steffen, is angry about the U.S. tariffs “because it hits me in my pocketbook from multiple angles.”
California farmer Jeff Colombini, who grows walnuts, cherries and apples, is concerned about the financial damage a trade war could bring.
“With these tariffs, its going to make the product[s] too expensive for the consumers in Mexico and in Canada and in the EU,” he said. “I have 200 employees, and they depend on the success of this operation for their jobs and to feed and clothe their families.”
The imposition of the tariffs is also not popular with some members of Congress, including those from Trump’s own party, whose states are dependent on exports.
“Imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on our most important trading partners is the wrong approach and represents an abuse of authority intended only for national security purposes,” said Bob Corker of Tennessee, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“You don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents,” Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said on Twitter. “Blanket protectionism is a big part of why we had a Great Depression. ‘Make America Great Again’ shouldn’t mean ‘Make America 1929 Again.’”
Tennessee has three major auto assembly plants. Nebraska is a significant exporter of cattle, corn, soybeans and hogs.
Mexico said, in response, it will penalize U.S. imports, including pork bellies, apples, grapes, cheeses and flat steel.
“There’s a reason why” the countries are carefully selecting which American products to target in response, said William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Most of bourbon is made in Kentucky, which is the state of the Senate majority leader. Harley Davidsons are made in Wisconsin, which is the state of the speaker of the House,” Reinsch told VOA News. “Usually when other countries retaliate, and the Chinese have done something similar, is they’re good at maximizing political pain by picking out products that are made in places where people are politically important.”
“Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are a tax hike on Americans and will have damaging consequences for consumers, manufacturers and workers,” said Republican Orrin Hatch, who chairs the Senate’s finance committee and is a longtime advocate of breaking down trade barriers.
Expected higher prices for U.S. consumers on some products is only one side of the equation, said Ross, who noted that steel and aluminum makers in the U.S. are adding employment and opening facilities as a result of the U.S. government action.
“You can create a few jobs, however, you’re going to lose more in the process,” as consuming industries will be placed at a disadvantage of paying more for raw materials compared to their foreign competitors, Simon Lester, trade policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, told VOA News.
Britain will not sign a trade agreement with the United States that is not in the country’s best interests, Trade Minister Liam Fox said Saturday after European Union officials filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over stiff U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
“If we can’t come to an agreement that we believe is in the interests of the United Kingdom, then we wouldn’t be signing any trade agreement,” Fox said Saturday in an interview with BBC radio.
Fox’s comments came one day after European Union officials submitted a formal complaint to the WTO, the first in a series of retaliatory actions, including possible tariffs, against the U.S. Fox said the tariffs are “illegal” and that British Prime Minister Theresa May would raise the issue at the Group of Seven meeting next week in Canada.
Trans-Atlantic and North American trade tensions escalated when the U.S. imposed on Friday a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico. The U.S. also negotiated quotas or volume limits on other countries, such as South Korea, Argentina, Australia and Brazil, instead of tariffs.
In a separate dispute, China is prepared to target billions of dollars in U.S. products, many of which come from America’s agricultural heartland, where Trump enjoys strong voter support.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrived in Beijing Saturday in an attempt to avert an all-out trade war between the world’s two largest economies. On China’s target list are U.S. soybean farmers, who export about 60-percent of their soybeans to China.
A dairy farmer who also grows soybeans in the midwestern state of Nebraska, Ben Steffen, is angry about the U.S. tariffs “because it hits me in my pocketbook from multiple angles.”
California farmer Jeff Colombini, who grows walnuts, cherries and apples, is concerned about the financial damage a trade war could bring.
“With these tariffs, its going to make the product[s] too expensive for the consumers in Mexico and in Canada and in the EU,” he said. “I have 200 employees, and they depend on the success of this operation for their jobs and to feed and clothe their families.”
The imposition of the tariffs is also not popular with some members of Congress, including those from Trump’s own party, whose states are dependent on exports.
“Imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on our most important trading partners is the wrong approach and represents an abuse of authority intended only for national security purposes,” said Bob Corker of Tennessee, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“You don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents,” Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said on Twitter. “Blanket protectionism is a big part of why we had a Great Depression. ‘Make America Great Again’ shouldn’t mean ‘Make America 1929 Again.’”
Tennessee has three major auto assembly plants. Nebraska is a significant exporter of cattle, corn, soybeans and hogs.
Mexico said, in response, it will penalize U.S. imports, including pork bellies, apples, grapes, cheeses and flat steel.
“There’s a reason why” the countries are carefully selecting which American products to target in response, said William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Most of bourbon is made in Kentucky, which is the state of the Senate majority leader. Harley Davidsons are made in Wisconsin, which is the state of the speaker of the House,” Reinsch told VOA News. “Usually when other countries retaliate, and the Chinese have done something similar, is they’re good at maximizing political pain by picking out products that are made in places where people are politically important.”
“Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are a tax hike on Americans and will have damaging consequences for consumers, manufacturers and workers,” said Republican Orrin Hatch, who chairs the Senate’s finance committee and is a longtime advocate of breaking down trade barriers.
Expected higher prices for U.S. consumers on some products is only one side of the equation, said Ross, who noted that steel and aluminum makers in the U.S. are adding employment and opening facilities as a result of the U.S. government action.
“You can create a few jobs, however, you’re going to lose more in the process,” as consuming industries will be placed at a disadvantage of paying more for raw materials compared to their foreign competitors, Simon Lester, trade policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, told VOA News.
An anonymous bidder offered more than $3.3 million Friday for a private lunch with Warren Buffett, an amount just short of the record paid in 2016 and 2012 for the chance to pick the brain of the renowned investor and philanthropist.
An online auction that raises money for the Glide Foundation’s work to help the homeless in San Francisco ended Friday night on eBay with a winning bid of $3,300,100. The winner wished to remain anonymous.
Third highest price paid
The price was the third highest in the 18 years Buffett has offered the lunch. Winners paid $3,456,789 in 2012 and 2016, which remain the most expensive charity items ever sold on eBay.
Buffett has raised more than $26 million for the Glide Foundation through the annual auctions. Bidders continue to pay high prices for the chance to talk with Buffett, who leads Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway, and the event raises a significant part of Glide’s $20 million annual budget.
Buffett supports Glide because of the work the charity does to help people. His first wife, Susie, introduced him to Glide after she volunteered there.
“Glide really takes people who have hit rock bottom and helps bring them back. They’ve been doing it for decades,” Buffett said.
Glide provides meals, health care, job training, rehabilitation and housing support to the poor and homeless.
One topic off limits
Buffett has said he gets asked about a variety of topics during the lunch. The only subject that’s off limits is what Buffett might invest in next.
The winners of the lunch auction typically dine with Buffett at Smith and Wollensky steak house in New York City, which donates at least $10,000 to Glide each year to host the lunch.
Buffett’s company owns more than 90 companies including insurance, furniture, railroad, jewelry, utility and candy businesses. Berkshire Hathaway also has major investments in companies including Coca-Cola Co., Apple, American Express and Wells Fargo & Co.
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An anonymous bidder offered more than $3.3 million Friday for a private lunch with Warren Buffett, an amount just short of the record paid in 2016 and 2012 for the chance to pick the brain of the renowned investor and philanthropist.
An online auction that raises money for the Glide Foundation’s work to help the homeless in San Francisco ended Friday night on eBay with a winning bid of $3,300,100. The winner wished to remain anonymous.
Third highest price paid
The price was the third highest in the 18 years Buffett has offered the lunch. Winners paid $3,456,789 in 2012 and 2016, which remain the most expensive charity items ever sold on eBay.
Buffett has raised more than $26 million for the Glide Foundation through the annual auctions. Bidders continue to pay high prices for the chance to talk with Buffett, who leads Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway, and the event raises a significant part of Glide’s $20 million annual budget.
Buffett supports Glide because of the work the charity does to help people. His first wife, Susie, introduced him to Glide after she volunteered there.
“Glide really takes people who have hit rock bottom and helps bring them back. They’ve been doing it for decades,” Buffett said.
Glide provides meals, health care, job training, rehabilitation and housing support to the poor and homeless.
One topic off limits
Buffett has said he gets asked about a variety of topics during the lunch. The only subject that’s off limits is what Buffett might invest in next.
The winners of the lunch auction typically dine with Buffett at Smith and Wollensky steak house in New York City, which donates at least $10,000 to Glide each year to host the lunch.
Buffett’s company owns more than 90 companies including insurance, furniture, railroad, jewelry, utility and candy businesses. Berkshire Hathaway also has major investments in companies including Coca-Cola Co., Apple, American Express and Wells Fargo & Co.
…
Birds and airplanes share the sky, so inevitably collisions occur. But airport authorities try to limit those encounters because bird strikes cause costly damage to jet engines and can lead to crashes. Some airports employ trained dogs, others use loud noises to frighten birds away. A company in the Netherlands says its robotic predator Robird is much more efficient. VOA’s George Putic has more.
…
Birds and airplanes share the sky, so inevitably collisions occur. But airport authorities try to limit those encounters because bird strikes cause costly damage to jet engines and can lead to crashes. Some airports employ trained dogs, others use loud noises to frighten birds away. A company in the Netherlands says its robotic predator Robird is much more efficient. VOA’s George Putic has more.
…
For Muslims, the month of Ramadan is a time for self-reflection and prayer — and fasting from sunrise to sunset. After sunset, families and friends enjoy a meal called Iftar. At a mosque in Virginia, outside Washington, people of various faiths came to Iftar one evening and to join Muslims in prayer. VOA’s Deborah Block has the story.
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For Muslims, the month of Ramadan is a time for self-reflection and prayer — and fasting from sunrise to sunset. After sunset, families and friends enjoy a meal called Iftar. At a mosque in Virginia, outside Washington, people of various faiths came to Iftar one evening and to join Muslims in prayer. VOA’s Deborah Block has the story.
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The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in May, sending the unemployment rate to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. The Labor Department says hourly wages also grew, bumping average worker pay up 2.7 percent from this time last year. And yet, despite the improving job picture, economists say there may be dark clouds forming on the horizon. Mil Arcega reports.
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The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in May, sending the unemployment rate to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. The Labor Department says hourly wages also grew, bumping average worker pay up 2.7 percent from this time last year. And yet, despite the improving job picture, economists say there may be dark clouds forming on the horizon. Mil Arcega reports.
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Facebook has faced backlash from customers, regulators and lawmakers over its handling of user data and its response to reports that foreign actors have used its service to upend elections. Now it’s Facebook shareholders’ turn to sound off at the company’s annual meeting in California. Michelle Quinn reports.
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Facebook has faced backlash from customers, regulators and lawmakers over its handling of user data and its response to reports that foreign actors have used its service to upend elections. Now it’s Facebook shareholders’ turn to sound off at the company’s annual meeting in California. Michelle Quinn reports.
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