VOA Talks With Astronauts in Space

VOA's Anne Ball interviews U.S. astronaut, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut, Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko on the International Space Station on Wednesday

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January 20, 2016

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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Best Tool to Teach Babies Speech? Their Parents' Voice

  A new study says electronic toys are not helping babies learn. “Even if companies are marketing them as educational, they’re not teaching the babies anything at this time,” said the study’s author, Anna Sosa. She is a Northern Arizona University professor who heads the school’s Child Speech and Language Lab. Sosa and her fellow researchers listened to audio recordings of parents playing with their babies -- aged 10 months to 16 months. The researchers compared the experiences when the children played with electronic toys, traditional toys such as blocks, or when the children looked at books. What they found is that parents talked less with their babies when the babies played with electronic toys. “The parents talked less, responded less and used fewer content specific words,” Sosa said. Why is this important? Sosa said research shows that how quickly children develop language is often based on what they hear from parents. When the infants played with electronic toys, parents said little to their children, Sosa said. But with traditional toys, such as blocks, parents shared the names and descriptions of the animals, colors and shapes as their children played, Sosa said. There was even more information given by parents as their babies looked at the pictures in books, Sosa said. Sosa is not telling parents to throw out electronic toys. But she said parents should look at their infants’ play with such toys as entertainment, not a learning experience. Toy Industry Association spokeswoman Adrienne Appell responded to the study. She said it is important that parents make time to play with their children. “Playing is a way that kids can learn so much, not only cognitive skills, but social and developmental skills,” she said. She added that play should be balanced, including time for just “make believe” activities, as well as traditional and electronic toys. I'm Jonathan Evans.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. Now what do you think about educational toys for children? Let us know in the Comments and on our Facebook page, thanks! _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   respond – v. to say or write something as an answer to a question or request content – n. the things that are in something specific – n. the facts or details that relate to something description – n. a statement that tells you how something or someone looks, sounds entertainment – n. amusement or pleasure that comes from watching a performer, playing a game, etc.  

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VOA Talks With Astronauts in Space

VOA's Anne Ball interviews U.S. astronaut, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut, Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko on the International Space Station on Wednesday.

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VOA Talks With Astronauts in Space!

VOA's Anne Ball interviews U.S. astronaut, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut, Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko on the International Space Station on Wednesday.

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Eagles Founder Glenn Frey Dies

American rock and roll star Glenn Frey has died. He was 67 years old. The guitarist was a founding member of the Eagles. The popular Los Angeles-based band formed in 1971. Many years later it still performs sold-out shows in large centers. Frey died Monday in New York City. A band statement said the musician died from a combination of several diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. Bandmate Don Henley says Frey was like a brother to him. Frey “started it all,'' Henley said. He called him “the spark plug, the man with the plan.'' Henley said Frey had “an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and a work ethic that wouldn't quit.'' An Eagles greatest hits collection from the mid-1970s and “Hotel California'' are among the best-selling albums in history. Glenn Frey also had some success as a solo artist in the 1980s after the Eagles broke up. But when they reunited at their first live performance in April 1994, Frey stated, "For the record, we never broke up. We just took a 14-year vacation." Frey was born in Detroit, Michigan and was raised in the suburbs. His solo hits include “The Heat Is On'' and “Smuggler's Blues.'' The Eagles were entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Frey is survived by his wife Cindy and their three children. Musicians have been posting messages of love and thanks for Frey. Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac wrote that she could hardly see through her tears. She said, “Take it easy, Mr. Frey, as you fly.” I’m Jonathan Evans. Caty Weaver wrote this story from a VOA news report. Are you an Eagles fan? What is your favorite Eagles song? Post your answer in the Comment Section or on our Facebook page. ​ _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story founding member – n. an original member of a group  sold-out – adj. of or relating to an event where all the tickets have been sold​ encyclopedic – adj. dealing with or knowing a subject thoroughly or completely​ ethic – n. a belief that something is very important — usually singular​ solo – adj. done without another person​

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Media Reports: Corruption in Tennis

Two news organizations say corruption in professional tennis continues because tennis authorities do not stop it. The reports were released as the Australian Open tennis tournament began this week. The reports say corruption reaches high levels, and includes Wimbledon -- the top tournament in the sport. The British Broadcasting Corporation and Buzzfeed.com said they had received documents “from inside the sport.” The news reports said that in 2007 the Association of Tennis Professionals, or ATP, found that criminal groups in Russia, northern Italy and Sicily placed bets on matches. Investigators said the matches were fixed so that the criminals won hundreds of thousands of dollars. Three of the matches reportedly took place at Wimbledon. The BBC said that a secret report was given to tennis officials. It reportedly said 28 players were involved in match-fixing. But, the news reports said, “the findings were never followed up.” It said, for years, “there were repeated alerts sent to the [Tennis Integrity Unit] about a third of these players. None of them was disciplined by the TIU.” The TIU is an organization that investigates corruption in tennis. It has received many accusations against players in the past 10 years, the BBC and Buzzfeed reported. The tennis association began investigating possible corruption in the sport after a match in Poland in 2007. A British betting company received a large number of bets on the match. Most of the bets were for one player. His opponent voluntarily left the match even though he was winning. The betting company cancelled all the bets. Neither of the players was charged. But the news reports said the investigation was expanded. The reports said investigators found that other players were involved in match-fixing. But officials did not investigate further. Since then, the reports said, the ATP has “repeatedly been warned by betting companies, police and other investigators about many of the same players, but has not taken any action against them,” according to the Associated Press. On Monday, Novak Djokovic -- the world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player, spoke about an experience he said he had in 2007. Djokovic said people who worked with him were asked if he would accept tens of thousands of dollars to fix a match. He says he did not accept the proposal. He said fixing a match would be a crime. “I don’t support it,” he said. “I think there is no room for it in any sport, especially in tennis.” “It made me feel terrible because I don’t want to be…linked to this kind of -- you know, somebody may call it an opportunity,” he said. Djokovic said he thinks the recent media reports are about matches that took place almost 10 years ago. He said active players are not involved. And he said he does not believe there is corruption among the sport’s top players. Roger Federer is one of those top players. He said he wants players suspected of corruption to be named. He said, “then at least it’s concrete stuff and you can actually debate about it. Was it the player? Was it the support team? Who was it?” He asked, “how high up does it go? The higher it goes, the more surprised I would be.” The BBC reported that Serena Williams -- the top-ranked women’s player – said she did not know of any match-fixing. She said, “When I’m playing, I can only answer for me. I play very hard, and every player I play seems to play hard.” Chris Kermode is the president of the Association of Tennis Professionals. He said investigators have not found corruption in tennis. He said “the Tennis Integrity Unit and the tennis authorities absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason or isn’t being thoroughly investigated.” Kermode told reporters that investigators were “vigilant” in the fight against corruption. He said the sport investigates every corruption report it receives. He said it acts only when there is enough evidence. Kermode also said TIU investigations have led to punishment against 18 people. They include five players and one official who have been banned from the sport. Many of those who have been punished were lower-ranked players. Two former Top-50 players who had been banned from the sport were permitted to return by the Italian Tennis Federation last year. I’m _______________________.   ___________________________________________________ Words in This Story tournament – n. a sports competition or series of contests that involves many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days bet – n. an agreement in which people try to guess what will happen and the person who guesses wrong has to give something (such as money) to the person who guesses right fix – v. to control or affect (something, such as a game or election) in a dishonest way alert – n. something (such as a message or loud sound) that tells people there is a problem discipline – n. punishment for bad behavior rank – n. a position in a society, organization, group, etc. concrete – adj. relating to or involving specific people, things or actions rather than general ideas or qualities stuff – n. informal used to speak in a general way about something that is talked about, written about, etc. vigilant – adj. carefully noticing problems or signs of danger

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Russian Parliament Rejects Anti-Gay Law

Russia’s Parliament rejected a bill Monday that would have permitted fines or jail time for homosexual acts. Rights groups have welcomed the move. But, they are also calling for a repeal of a 2013 law that they say has encouraged discrimination against non-heterosexuals. It is called the “gay propaganda” law. Communist Party lawmakers had proposed the law that was rejected. Had it passed, gay people could have been fined between $50 and $65 for public demonstrations of affection. The proposed measure described such acts as "expression of non-traditional sexual relations." It could also have led to jail time depending on where the act took place. Human Rights Watch denounced the bill. The group said the measure would have punished people for expressing their identity. It was a rare win in Russia for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexual people, also known as LGBT. Human Rights Watch's Russia Program Director in Moscow, Tanya Lokshina, praised the defeat of the measure in an email. "However,” she wrote, “the parliament has yet to repeal the 'gay propaganda' bill, which has done tremendous damage to Russia's LGBT people." The 2013 measure outlaws the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors." The law has received international criticism. Lokshina says it also has led to increased numbers of attacks on the LGBT community in Russia. Sandra is a transgender women living in Moscow. She told VOA that she was beaten in broad daylight after the law was passed. Her girlfriend called the police. Officers arrived quickly, she said, but were not willing to arrest her attackers. She said the attackers were not charged with any crime. She said the police insulted her instead. President Vladimir Putin has defended the "gay propaganda law," saying it does not ban homosexuality. The chief of Russian state media once said the hearts of dead homosexuals should be burned instead of donated. He called them “unfit to live.” LGBT activists continue their efforts for equal rights, however. Vladimir Komov, a Teachers' Union official, and engineer Dmitry Svetly are a gay couple living in Moscow. "We're openly gay," says Komov. "We're not hiding in fear," says Svetly, "For us, being open is a weapon." I’m Caty Weaver.   VOA's Moscow reporter, Daniel Schearf, wrote this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Are there laws against homosexuality in your country? Leave a comment or post on our Facebook page.  ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   homosexual – n. a person who is attracted to others of the same gender heterosexual – n. a person who is attracted to others of the opposite gender repeal – v. to take back gay – n. homosexual affection – n. warm feelings or fondess for something or someone LGBT – adj. an acronym for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender minor – adj. slight, or younger

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Trending Today: OMG! #TwitterDown

This is What's Trending Today... Millions of Twitter users were unable to use the social network Tuesday, as the company suffered a major outage worldwide. Users across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America reported having problems. The outages prevented many users on computers and smartphones from sharing and receiving updates and other messages. Twitter users in northern Europe began to report issues Tuesday morning. Smartphone users there received the warning: “Tweets aren’t loading right now.” Several hours later, Twitter access became unavailable in the United States and Canada, at the start of the work day. A statement on the company’s Twitter page said, “We are aware of the issue and are working towards a resolution.” The on-again, off-again Twitter outages meant that the hashtag #twitterdown trended worldwide, as Twitter remained unavailable in many countries. Once users were able to access Twitter again, many posted about what they did during the Twitter outage, instead of writing tweets or checking for updates. One user tweeted: “With #twitterdown, I spent some time with my family. They seem like good people.” And that’s What’s Trending Today.  Do you have a Twitter account? Did you lose access to Twitter on Tuesday? What did you do during #twitterdown? Let us know in the Comments section and on our Facebook page! _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   outage - n. a period of time when there something (such as electricity) is not working  load - v. to cause (a program, file, etc.) to begin being used or displayed by a computer​  

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Iran Glad for Sanction Relief, But Wary of US

Iran says it welcomes the easing of economic sanctions, but will remain wary of the United States. Monday, Iran's Defense Minister called the U.S. sanctions “hostile” toward Iran. The U.S. imposed the new sanctions Sunday against five Iranian nationals and a network of companies with links to banned missile activity. The U.S. Treasury Department said five Iranians worked to get missile parts for Iran. Companies in the United Arab Emirates and China also were involved. Iran drew anger from the United States and other Western powers last year when Iran tested two ballistic missiles. Iran defended the tests as a matter of national security. President Barack Obama said the U.S. government will “vigorously” enforce sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program. The new sanctions come after economic sanctions were lifted which were tied to Iran’s nuclear program. Following the lifting of the sanctions, Iran announced an increase in oil production by 500,000 barrels a day. Iran currently produced 3 million barrels per day. About 1 million of the barrels are exported. I'm Marsha James.   This report was based on information from VOAnews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted the story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   network - n. a group of people or organizations that work with each other; a system of computers and other devices that are connected to each other matter - n. something that is being done or talked about wary - adj. not having or showing complete trust in someone or something sanction – n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country ballistic missile – n. a weapon that is shot through the sky over a great distance and then falls to the ground and explodes vigorously – adv. done with great force and energy

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62 People Own Most of World's Wealth

The richest 62 people on earth now have the same wealth as the poorest 3.6 billion, according to a report from Oxfam. Five years ago, the majority of wealth was in the hands of 388 individuals. As the global population increased by around 400 million people, the wealth of the poorest half of the world has fallen by 41 percent - a drop of about $1 trillion. That means more money, assets and wealth shifted to fewer people. Oxfam is an aid organization working to fight poverty and hunger around the world. The group reported that women are more affected than men by inequality. The majority of low paid workers around the world are women. Just nine of the richest 62 individuals are women, the aid group says. It said the differences between the very rich and everyone else has widened over the past 12 months. It said Oxfam predicted last year “the 1 percent would soon own more than the rest of us.” That happened a year earlier than expected, in 2015, the report said. The use of tax shelter Oxfam considers tax shelters for the wealthy the biggest problem. The group said “rich individuals and companies” hide their wealth in countries where they can pay less tax on their earnings. This is tax money that governments need “to tackle poverty and inequality.” “It is simply unacceptable that the poorest half of the world’s population owns no more than a few dozen super-rich people who could fit onto one bus,” said Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International’s Executive Director. The report said about $7.6 trillion of individual wealth is kept in “offshore” banks. They give the wealthy a rate of return on their investments that is higher than the economic growth rate in many countries. Oxfam said taxes on the wealthiest income would add an extra $190 billion to governments every year. “As much as 30 percent of all African financial wealth is estimated to be held offshore, costing an estimated $14 billion in lost tax revenues every year,” it added. “This is enough money to pay for healthcare for mothers and children in Africa that could save 4 million children’s lives a year, and employ enough teachers to get every African child into school,” it continued. The report comes a few days before the World Economic Forum opens in Davos, Switzerland. The WEF is a non-profit organization. It invites about 2,500 business leaders, politicians, thinkers and journalists to discuss issues like world poverty and economic growth. Talk among world leaders “about the escalating inequality crisis has so far not translated into concrete action,” the report says. “The world has become a much more unequal place and the trend is accelerating. We cannot continue to allow hundreds of millions of people to go hungry while resources that could be used to help them are sucked up by those at the top.” Oxfam noted that had inequality within countries not grown between 1990 and 2010, an extra 200 million people would have escaped poverty. It said governments should “recover the missing billions lost to tax havens” to pay for healthcare, schools and other public services for the general public. Governments should move minimum wage rates “towards a living wage” and tackle “the pay gap between men and women.” Byanyima added, “The richest can no longer pretend their wealth benefits everyone – their extreme wealth in fact shows an ailing global economy. The recent explosion in the wealth of the super-rich has come at the expense of the majority and particularly the poorest people." Oxfam said global wealth was calculated by Credit Suisse Global Wealth Datebook (2013 and 2014) and Forbes’ billionaires list  published in March. Not everyone agrees with the report The Institute for Economic Affairs in London called the numbers in the report “meaningless and misleading.” Mark Littlewood, director general of the IEA, said that, “global capitalism has eradicated poverty and generated prosperity in the developing world at an unprecedented rate.” Tim Worstall, a Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London, and a blogger for Forbes magazine, disputed the Oxfam report. What the Oxfam report is “complaining about isn’t very important and we’ve already solved it anyway,” he said. “We don’t actually need to do anything therefore, need no public policy over something we’ve already solved. ... Global demographics are such that the global labor force is going to shrink from now on. Thus the return to labor will rise. We’re done.” I’m Jonathan Evans   The full report can be downloaded here. Kathleen Struck wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Do you have something to say about wealth, poverty and the Oxfam report? Can poverty be changed? Please leave a comment under the story and on our Facebook page.  ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   inequality -- adv. unfairness, favoritism toward one thing, a lack of fairness dozen ​-- n. 12 offshore – n. definition escalating -- v. going up or higher, increasing in height concrete ​ -- n. a building material that begins as a liquid and dries to a solid accelerating -- v. going faster, increasing in speed minimum ​-- n. the lowest or least amount prosperity ​-- n. thriving, gaining, increasing in wealth or comfort demographics -- n. the categories of a population that show  age, income, education, etc.​   

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