March 28, 2017

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

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Explainer: Nuclear Stockpiles

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WHO: Environmental Pollution Kills Millions of Children Every Year

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. Environmental pollution kills 1.7 million children under the age of five every year worldwide. This is according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO warns that child deaths will increase greatly if pollution continues to worsen. Dr. Margaret Chan is the WHO Director-General.  In a press release statement, Chan said, "A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children." She explains that "their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water." The most common causes of death among children aged one month to five years are diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia. This is according to the WHO. The organization also says reducing environmental risks can prevent such deaths. This means providing access to safe water and sanitation, limiting exposure to dangerous chemicals, and improving waste management. Experts say air pollution is the most dangerous However, of all the environmental pollutants, air pollution is being called the most dangerous. The WHO estimates that air pollution is responsible for about 6.5 million premature, or early, deaths every year. That number includes nearly 600,000 deaths of children under age five. Most of these deaths take place in developing countries. However, WHO environment and health chief Maria Neira tells VOA that air pollution is a leveler between rich and poor. Everybody, she says, needs to breathe. "You can be a very rich child, your parents very rich, but living in a place, in a city, which is very polluted. Then there is very little you can do because we all need to breathe. So, even if you are rich or poor, you still need to breathe and this is very pernicious. Air pollution is everywhere."   Neira says one of the most important ways to reduce air pollution is to produce cleaner fuels for cooking and heating. "Almost half of the world population is using dirty fuels for cooking, heating, and lighting at home. And, this is affecting very much mothers who are staying and cooking at home, but the children who are around mothers—they are exposed as well.” She says early exposure to harmful pollutants can lead to increased risk of chronic respiratory disease, asthma, heart disease, stroke and cancer later in life. Cleaning up how the world cooks, heats and lights homes and other buildings is a big-picture goal. The WHO is advising government departments and industries such as construction and the health sector to work together to clean up their environment. But what about the here and now? What can individuals do to limit our family’s exposure to air pollution? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the following suggestions: Avoid walking where there is a high volume of vehicle traffic. Equip homes with air filters and air conditioning units. Limit your time outside if you live in an area that issues warnings about air quality. Wear high-grade, rated face masks tightly to the face when air quality is poor. If you live or commute in a very polluted area, remove your clothes and wash immediately after entering your house. Some of these suggestions, however, may not work for some people -- for example: those living in areas troubled by high levels of pollution, those who cannot stay home from work or school, or those who do not have money for protective equipment. Therefore, the WHO stresses that governments around the world need to take the lead on ensuring that children grow up in a clean environment. And that’s the Health & Lifestyle report. I’m Anna Matteo. Look for follow-up articles here at the Health & Lifestyle report on other ways you can protect yourself and your family against environmental pollutants.   Lisa Schlein reported for VOA from Geneva at the launch of two WHO reports dealing with the effect of harmful environments on children's health. Anna Matteo adapted this story for Learning English, adding addition reporting from several websites. George Grow editor the story. ___________________________________________________________ Words in This Story vulnerable – adj. capable of being physically or emotionally wounded access – n. a way of being able to use or get something sanitation – n. the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, disease, etc., by removing waste, trash and garbage, by cleaning streets, etc. pernicious – adj. causing great harm or damage often in a way that is not easily seen or noticed leveler – n. something that treats or affects all people the same way here-and-now – n. the present time —used with the _________________________________________________________ Now, test your comprehension of the story with this short quiz.  

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Trump Looks for Win after Healthcare Failure

  Last week was a bad one for President Donald Trump. On Monday, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told Congress he had “no information” to support Trump’s claims of being wiretapped by former President Barack Obama. The FBI chief also confirmed that his agency is investigating the Trump-Russian connection. Then, a bill to replace the 2010 health care law known as “Obamacare” failed. A scheduled congressional vote on the bill to replace the law was cancelled to avoid an embarrassing defeat. As a candidate, Trump promised to replace Obamacare with something “much better.” Congressional Republicans have promised to kill the law since the day it was passed by a Democratic president and Democratic Congress seven years ago. It is not unusual for a president to suffer a defeat in Congress. But some experts said his presidency is off to a bad start since very few lose on their first major bill. Larry Sabato is director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He said, “It’s early in his presidency, and there are plenty of days and ways to recover from this. But Trump’s administration has started out worse than any in my lifetime.” After the bill’s defeat, Trump said he will focus on other campaign promises like tax reform to encourage businesses to produce more products in the U.S. Follow through on campaign promises The president has had some successes with his campaign promises for the first 100 days -- mainly those he could do on his own. Five days into his presidency, he nominated a conservative judge, Neil Gorsuch, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gorsuch is likely to be confirmed by the Senate, despite Democratic opposition. Trump has also issued a series of promised executive orders. He ordered federal agencies to cancel two regulations for every new one. He issued two executive orders to temporarily ban travel to the U.S. from some Muslim-majority nations. Federal courts, however, blocked both travel ban orders. In his proposed budget, Trump also added money to start building a wall along America’s southern border with Mexico. Early defeat raises questions about future programs As a candidate, Trump said he would negotiate successfully with Congress and world leaders -- just as he did for many years as a successful businessman. “We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning,” he said as a candidate. The defeat of the bill to replace Obamacare raises questions whether Trump will have enough support among members of his own party in Congress. On Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the president “gave his all,” but still could not win enough Republican votes to pass it. “I don't know what else to say other than Obamacare's the law of the land,” Ryan said. Jack Rackove is a history and political science professor at Stanford University in California. He said Trump appeared “uninformed” about the complex American health care system. Trump left “everything to the House Republicans who were too divided to govern effectively,” he said. Trump's chief of staff, Reince Preibus, Sunday blamed conservative Republicans for opposing the bill even after Trump agreed to changes they had requested. Preibus said on Fox News that the president is now willing to work around those conservative Republicans, and negotiate with moderate Democrats. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats are willing to work with Trump. But he needs to learn from his mistakes, Schumer said on ABC.  “You cannot run the presidency like you run a real estate deal,” he said. “You can't tweet your way through it.” I'm Anne Ball.   Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English based on reports from AP, Reuters, VOA News and other sources. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   replace - v. to be used instead of something wiretapping - n. to place a device on (someone's phone) in order to secretly listen to telephone calls embarrassing -- adj. to make someone look foolish executive - adj. carried out by a leader -- in this case the president real estate - n. property consisting of buildings and land effectively - adv. - to do something well  

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Iraq, US Investigate Mass Civilian Deaths in Mosul

  The U.S. led coalition in Iraq says it is investigating reports that coalition airstrikes killed as many as 100 civilians in western Mosul this month. Military officials called the death of civilians in Iraq's northern city of Mosul "a terrible tragedy." The U.S. Defense Department has said an early examination showed coalition warplanes attacked at the place where civilians reportedly were killed on March 17. Iraqi forces, with coalition air support, are working to capture western Mosul from Islamic State fighters. The Islamic State group has controlled the area since 2014. The head of U.S. Central Command said Sunday that coalition forces will continue taking what he called "extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians." General Joseph Votel said, "While Iraq's security forces are making measurable progress, the fight in Mosul is a difficult one, and particularly because the enemy operates amongst the civilian population.” The Iraqi military has suggested that Islamic State fighters were responsible for the deaths on March 17. It said new evidence suggests that Islamic State fighters placed explosives at the site. The Iraqi military’s Joint Command said, "All of [the building's] walls were rigged with bombs and there is no hole or signs that it was an airstrike target." More than 500,000 civilians are believed to be living in Islamic State-held areas of Mosul.  Reports say Islamic State extremists use civilians as human shields against Iraqi forces. VOA spoke Sunday to  28-year-old Ammar Hazzim who had just arrived at a refugee camp near Mosul. He said, “We tried to run the day before yesterday, but Islamic State militants executed 21 people that day for fleeing, including women. Today, we decided we had to go.” Hazzim said there had been much violence in his neighborhood, called New Mosul, in the past month. He said an airstrike there 40 days ago killed his brother and his brother’s three children.  Hazzim’s family said the airstrikes, car bombings, executions and suicide attacks have turned the area into a disaster zone. Other families fleeing western Mosul this week agree. Hazzim’s brother Lazem added, “The militants gather families into small areas. The families hide in the basements and the airplanes don’t see them. They are hidden.” “In western Mosul, there is no place to strike without hitting families,” he said.   Caty Weaver adapted this for Learning English from VOANews reports. Mario Ritter was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   particularly – adv. more than usually rig – v. to put something secretly in (a place) — usually + with shield – n. something that defends or protects someone or something casualty – n. a person who is hurt or killed during an accident, war, etc. zone – n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way basement – n. the part of a building that is entirely or partly below the ground  

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Shell Scientist Says Company Hid Nigeria Oil Spill Dangers

A German scientist working for Royal Dutch Shell believes the oil company’s businesses in Nigeria “fiercely opposed” environmental testing. The scientist, Kay Holtzmann, also accused the businesses of hiding information. He said it shows that thousands of Nigerians are being exposed to health dangers because of a delay in efforts to clean-up the worst oil spills in Nigeria’s history. Holtzmann noted that an environmental study found extremely high pollution levels with soil full of hydrocarbons. The people of Bodo in the Niger Delta should get urgent medical tests, he added. The Associated Press, or AP, says his comments were in a letter written to the Bodo Mediation Initiative. The group was set up to make sure the cleanup follows international requirements. Shell had no immediate reaction when asked by the AP for comment. The cleanup operation stopped 17 months ago. Those efforts were part of a British settlement requiring the company to pay $83.5 million to 15,600 fishermen and farmers for damages. The court ruled that old pipes were to blame for oil spills in 2008 and 2009. The oil damaged thousands of hectares of coastal plant life and waterways. Lawyers claimed that as much as 500,000 barrels of oil polluted the area. Shell officials said it was only 1,640 barrels. The company initially offered the community $50,000 for the damage. The settlement was reached through the British law office Leigh Day. The office said on Friday it has received no reaction to a January letter it wrote to Shell requesting more information from Kay Holtzmann. The Dutch-British oil company was paying him to direct the cleanup operations. "Leigh Day has been pushing for the cleanup of Bodo,” the letter said. The letter also stated Leigh Day has requested health exams for the population and tests of the water supply since 2011. Leigh Day’s letter also noted that the Holztmann letter proves even people working for Shell are concerned about its behavior. The letter warns that children washing up in creeks are risking harm from dangerous substances. People who drink from hand-dug wells are also at risk, it said. In a statement, rights group Amnesty International called Shell "deeply irresponsible.” It added: “Shell has a responsibility to share this information with the community to ensure they can take steps to protect themselves and their children.” The Dutch government began supervising cleanup efforts in June 2015, but community disagreements and labor problems stopped the efforts. Holtzmann's letter urges a representative of the Bodo Mediation Initiative to publish the information. The letter notes that the initiative wanted the tests – against strong opposition from the Shell Petroleum Development Company, or SPDC. Nigeria is one of Africa's largest oil producers. The Nigerian government is the majority owner of SPDC. The environmental tests were done in August 2015 with support from Royal Dutch Shell's headquarters in The Hague, the letter said. Holtzmann said he wanted to publish the study findings in a scientific magazine last year, but Shell stopped him. Shell officials said his work agreement with the company did not permit publication. An official from the Bodo Mediation Initiative said that the local population’s health will be better served by restarting the cleanup work. Bodo is part of Ogoniland, where the failure to clean up oil spills was called an environmental scandal in 2011 by the United Nations Environment Program. The U.N. agency reported pollution levels so high that it could take 30 years to renew the land. I’m Alice Bryant.   The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   hydrocarbon - n. a substance, such as coal or natural gas, that contains only carbon and hydrogen creek - n. a small waterway scandal - n. an incident in which people are shocked because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong expose - v. to make known; to make public barrel - n. the amount of oil in a large container (160 liters or 42 gallons of petroleum)

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March 27, 2017

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

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Girls Kept Off Airplane Because of Their Clothing

  This is What’s Trending Today. United Airlines barred two young women from boarding their flight Sunday morning because of the kind of pants they were wearing. Many people on social media are talking about the decision. Most say the girls did nothing wrong. The airline says it made the decision because the girls were wearing leggings. Leggings are pants that are made of a material that stretches to fight tightly around the legs. They are a popular kind of clothing for women and girls. That kind of clothing is not in line with its dress code, United says. Places like restaurants and offices sometimes enforce dress codes. For example, a nice restaurant may require men to wear a suit jacket at dinner. The girls were traveling from Denver, Colorado, to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their story spread quickly after another United passenger, Shannon Watts, tweeted that the girls had been asked to change out of their leggings in order to get on the plane. Watts, an activist and popular Twitter user, started tweeting about the incident early on Sunday morning.  Soon enough, it became a major news story. Celebrities as well as other airlines expressed their opinions about women’s clothing. Chrissie Teigen is a well-known model. She said she has flown on United Airlines before without wearing pants. She wrote that she instead wore a long shirt as a dress.  Actress Patricia Arquette wrote that the girls were probably dressed appropriately for their age.  And Delta Air Lines wrote: “Flying Delta means comfort. (That means you can wear your leggings.)”  United Airlines said on its Twitter page that it has the right to prevent people from getting onto their airplanes if they are not dressed properly.  United later explained that the girls were traveling as guests of an employee for free. It has a dress code that applies to passengers who are employees or guests of employees.   But the explanation did not seem to help. Social media users continued to criticize the airline and its policies on clothing. Some people said the policy did not represent current fashion styles or trends. But others said the airline could set rules for passengers however it wanted. The debate continued on Monday. Shannon Watts told one newspaper she thought that United Airlines had applied the dress code too strictly. She also said that she had seen a man wearing shorts board the plane without a problem. “I'd be interested in knowing how often they do this for little boys," she asked the New York Daily News. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English based on reports USA Today, the New York Daily News and NPR. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Are leggings appropriate clothing for airplanes? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   dress code – n. a set of rules about what clothing may and may not be worn at a school, office, restaurant, etc. trend – n. something that is currently popular or fashionable apply – v. to have an effect on someone or something shorts – n. short pants that reach down to the knees strict – adj. used to describe a command, rule, etc., that must be obeyed activist – n. a person who uses or supports strong actions (such as public protests) to help make changes in politics or society

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Forbes’ Yearly Billionaires List Hits Record High

  Forbes Magazine released its yearly list of the richest people in the world. There are more billionaires than ever before - a record 2,043 billionaires on Earth. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, once again, is number one, his fourth straight year at the top. The magazine reports his wealth to be a cool $86 billion. The estimate is up $11 billion from last year. Businessman Warren Buffett, re-gained his number two position on the list this year with $75.6 billion. Another American Jeff Bezos is at third place with the biggest jump in wealth. The creator of the online market Amazon is $27.5 billion richer this year. The entrepreneur has $72.8 billion, according to Forbes. Spain’s Amancio Ortega, the founder of the women’s clothing retailer Zara, was in second place last year. His fortune rose by $4.3 billion in a year. Ortega is listed in fourth place with $71.3 billion. The rest of the top ten is filled with familiar names. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, at the age of 32, is in fifth place. The others are Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico, Larry Ellison of the technology company Oracle, American brother businessmen Charles and David Koch, and New York City's former mayor Michael Bloomberg. All 10 have two things in common – they are white and they are men. There are 227 women on the list this year. They own a combined $853 billion.  The first woman on the list is Frenchwoman Liliane Bettencourt, who owns a third of L’Oréal cosmetics. Bettencourt is worth about $40.7 billion. American Alice Walton of Wal-Mart is the only other woman in the top twenty. She lost about $25 million over the last year. Now, she has to get by with just $34.4 billion. Out of 2,043 billionaires, 10 are black. Aliko Dangote of Nigeria is the richest of the group. He is number 107 on Forbes list. His estimated net worth is 12.2 billion dollars.The richest man in Africa, he owns a multinational cement business and has interests in agricultural products. The Asia-Pacific area has more billionaires than any other region, with 720 names on the list. But the United States has more billionaires than any other country, says Forbes. Among the Americans on the list is the U.S. president. Donald Trump, the magazine says, dropped more than 100 spots to number 544 this year. But, he also made history. He is the first American president to be named to the list. Forbes says Trump’s net worth is down to $3.5 billion, the result of a downturn in New York’s real estate business. But, during Trump's campaign for the presidency, his advisors said he was worth $10 billion.  I'm Caty Weaver.   Caty Weaver wrote this story with reporting from Reuters. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story cool - adj. used for emphasis in referring to a large amount of money​ cosmetics - n. substances (such as a cream, lotion, or powder) that you put on your face or body to improve your appearance; makeup​ entrepreneur - n. a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money​ retailer - n. a person or business that sells things directly to customers for their own use​ cement - n. a soft gray powder that is mixed with water and other substances to make concrete​ real estate - n. the business of selling land and buildings​  

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Hong Kong Police Plan to Arrest Protest Leaders

  Nine Hong Kong activists were told on Monday that they are to be arrested for their involvement in the student protests of 2014. The protests became known as the Umbrella Movement. Tens of thousands of student protesters filled Hong Kong’s streets three years ago to demand full democracy for the city. Now, police plan to charge the nine with taking part in mass demonstrations and inciting others to create “a public nuisance.” The announcement was made one day after longtime government official Carrie Lam was chosen as Hong Kong’s first female chief executive. She is currently the city’s deputy chief executive. The 59-year-old Lam won a special election on Sunday. She received 777 votes from Hong Kong’s 1,200-member electoral committee. The committee is filled with supporters of the government in Beijing. After her election, Carrie Lam talked about Hong Kong. She promised to protect the city’s “core values,” such as inclusiveness, freedom of speech and clean government. She noted that city residents see these values as very important. Pro-democracy activists are worried about Lam’s victory. They say she is likely to support pro-China positions. And they are worried about China’s growing involvement in Hong Kong. They fear the former British colony will no longer be governed under the “one country, two systems” plan, which guarantees the city many freedoms. Some activists are refusing to accept the election results. Legislator Nathan Law was a member of the election committee. But he says he did not mark his ballot. “The Beijing government has the final say on who is going to be appointed. As long as it is a very closed system, a selection, you should not add legitimacy to the system.” Pro-democracy activists want the city’s residents – not a committee -- to choose the chief executive. They also do not believe Lam can balance the interests of the public and the demands from China. Takchi Tam is a democracy activist. “I do not think she will keep the balance. I think she will betray Hong Kong people.” Lam’s supporters, such as Ivan Tsim, believe she will ensure the city’s security and economic growth. “I am more concerned [about] the education and the housing, of course. These are two big issues for Hong Kongnese.” Lam has promised to spend more than $600 million dollars for education. She also promised to increase the supply of housing. Political observer Dixon Sing says Lam’s election will always be seen as a sign that China will never lessen its control of the city. “Politically, as long as [Chinese president] Xi Jinping, the real hardliner, continues to govern China, he will continue to tighten his grip on Hong Kong and stop Hong Kong from democratizing.” Felix Patrikeeff of the University of Adelaide campus in Hong Kong told VOA that Lam is probably the best leader Hong Kong could expect. He said, "She’s not only trusted by China but also I think that there would be a grudging respect for her in Hong Kong itself. That’s notwithstanding the fact that she was not genuinely popularly elected there.” Patrikeeff says the election is a sign that China’s control over the city is growing. On Monday, China’s state-controlled Global Times newspaper said Lam’s margin of victory “provides an important basis for Hong Kong’s future unity.” The newspaper said the election was open and transparent. But most experts said it was not a democratic race and most of the city’s democracy activists have rejected the results. I’m Jonathan Evans.   Joyce Huang reported for VOA News from Hong Kong. VOA’s Fern Robinson and Victor Beattie reported from Washington. John Smith adapted their reports for Learning English. George Grow 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   nuisance – n. a person, thing, or situation that is annoying or that causes trouble or problems (usually singular) core – adj. most important or most basic legitimate – adj. allowed according to rules or laws; credible resident – n. someone who lives in a particular place hardliner – n. someone who holds strongly to a policy grip – n. power or control grudging – adj. said, done or given in an unwilling or doubtful way genuine – adj. actual, real or true margin – n. a measurement of difference transparent – adj. honest and open; not secretive

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Are Fast Radio Bursts Evidence of Unknown Life?

  The idea may be a little out of this world. Ten years ago, scientists started noticing very brief, but powerful radio bursts coming from outer space. Called fast radio bursts, or FRBs, they have been identified as millisecond-long bursts of radio emission. Scientists believe these emissions were made in a group of stars billions of light years away from Earth. A new theory says the radio bursts may be evidence of highly developed alien life. A paper describing the theory was published this month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The bursts cannot be seen with the human eye, but were observed by very large radio telescopes. Many scientists believe that these powerful flashes may be related to the collapse of a massive star. But scientist Avi Loeb says researchers have yet to confirm any natural cause of the emissions. Loeb is chair of Harvard University’s Astronomy Department and works at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He believes the bursts might be coming from powerful equipment, like a transmitter used on Earth to broadcast radio or television signals. He thinks the device could be as big as a planet and have enough power to send large spaceships great distances. Light Powered Spaceships While noting this is just “speculation,” Loeb told VOA what he suspects might be producing the fast radio bursts. He says, imagine a spacecraft moving like a sailboat, powered by light from the huge planet-sized transmitter. “If you have a sailboat, the wind is pushing the sail, and the sail carries the boat along with it. You can imagine doing exactly the same thing with light. If you bounce light off a sail, you could push a spacecraft.  And in principal because the spacecraft doesn’t carry its own fuel, you can push it all the way to the speed of light. At very high speeds.” Loeb says it could be created by alien life forms belonging to a highly developed civilization. He thinks the powerful bursts could be a sign of “leakage” — when light hitting the sail moves just past the edge of the sail. It shows up on Earth as a very bright, fast-moving radio wave. "And the idea is that the beam of light that is being used to push the sail is leaking. We see leakage of that radiation and if the beam is powerful enough we could see it from a great distance and because the beam is sweeping across the sky, we would see it as a flash of light, as a burst of radio waves, the way these fast radio bursts appear." Alien Threat? If there are aliens — life outside our planet — are they a threat? Loeb does not think so. If they do exist, they are “great distances” from us, he notes, “so there is no danger for us directly.”    The bursts were first observed in 2007. Since then, a total of 18 have been identified using very large radio telescopes.  Some of the researchers have been at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in the American state of New Mexico. They identified where one burst came from -- a dwarf galaxy more than three billion light-years from Earth. Sarah Burke-Spolaor teaches physics and astronomy at West Virginia University. She reported on the discovery earlier this year in two journals: Nature and Astrophysical Journal Letters. Burke-Spolaor says the fast radio burst was first discovered in November of 2012 at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The NRAO radio telescope later helped to identify where the FRB came from. What makes this emission different is that it is the only one to keep sending bursts — about 200 times, so far.  Burke-Spolaor says there are “many ideas about what FRBS are.” She says “the leading theory … is that these are related to neutron stars in other galaxies.” They could also come from black holes – areas with a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape.  She describes Avi Loeb as an “out of the box thinker.” She says his theories have an important job: they “make us (scientists) reconsider our assumptions and what we know and don’t know.” She adds, “it doesn’t mean the theory is anywhere near right, but we don’t have enough evidence to rule it out.” Where did Loeb get his theory? And where did Loeb get the idea that the fast radio bursts come from light pushing a spaceship? Loeb leads a team developing technology to send spacecraft to a planet called Proxima b. The project is called Breakthrough Starshot. He and the team are developing thousands of small spacecraft with sails. They want to use laser beams to push those sails forward. That got him thinking. “The fact that we are starting to think about propelling a spaceship, a spacecraft with light made me think about the possible signals that we could detect from the sky from a civilization that is using this technology.” For now, Loeb’s idea is just a theory. He and others say it will take more information to know if his theory is right. I’m Anne Ball.   Anne Ball reported this story from VOA Learning English with information from VOA. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. And find us on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   burst – n. a short period of producing or doing something that begins suddenly emission – n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source alien – n. a creature that comes from somewhere other than the planet Earth speculation – n. ideas or guesses about something that is not known dwarf – adj. smaller than normal size assumption – n. something that is believed to be true or probably true but that is not known to be true detect – v. to discover or notice the presence of (something that is hidden or hard to see, hear, taste, etc.)    

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