Jill Biden, the wife of recently inaugurated President Joe Biden, has made it clear that education policy will be a priority for her in the White House. Biden, who has a doctorate in education, is familiar with life in Washington as her husband spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate and eight years as vice president…

Jill Biden, the wife of recently inaugurated President Joe Biden, has made it clear that education policy will be a priority for her in the White House. Jill Biden is familiar with life in Washington as her husband spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate and eight years as vice president under Barack Obama. VOA’s…

Those who are not students of U.S. politics might be asking why the latest social media craze features an older gentleman in a dark puffer coat sitting in a folding chair and wearing large woolen mittens with a zig-zag pattern.  Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from the small and often very cold New England state…

Those who are not students of U.S. politics might be asking why the latest social media craze features an older gentleman in a dark puffer coat sitting in a folding chair and wearing large woolen mittens with a zig-zag pattern.  Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from the small and often very cold New England state…

Those who are not students of U.S. politics might be asking why the latest social media craze features an older gentleman in a dark puffer coat sitting in a folding chair and wearing large woolen mittens with a zig-zag pattern.  Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from the small and often very cold New England state…

President Joe Biden plans to make sweeping changes for students who borrow loans from the federal government, which could result in major relief for many younger Americans.As of 2019, about one-third of Americans younger than 30 held student loan debt, according to the Pew Research Center. The average debt load was $29,200 in 2018, according…

Student loan debt in the U.S. accounts for over $1.7 trillion, a figure higher than the GDP of countries like Canada, Russia, and South Korea. Now, students at one of the United States most prestigious universities say they will withhold their tuition payments unless the school meets their demands. VOA’s Keith Kocinski in New York…

Hundreds of students protested in Rome on Monday to demand more classrooms, transport to school and better access to education.After almost 10 months of remote learning, it was the first day back for high school pupils, yet many chose to demonstrate instead. For most high schools, only half of the students from each class were allowed…

Eleven students from Brazil and Chile have filed a federal lawsuit accusing a northwest Iowa community college, a recruitment company, a pet food manufacturer, and a packaging company of human trafficking and involuntary servitude. The lawsuit filed January 11 in the Northern District of Iowa says Western Iowa Tech Community College and J&L Staffing, both in…

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund launched a $40 million scholarship program on Monday to support a new generation of civil rights lawyers, dedicated to pursuing racial justice across the South.With that whopping gift from a single anonymous donor, the fund plans to put 50 students through law schools across the country. In return,…

The deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol delivered a sobering lesson to Gigi Mei, who graduated last May from Columbia University in New York.“Democracy is really fragile, and it takes a lot of efforts and energy,” said Mei, a 25-year-old from China. “And it needs people from all aspects to sustain, protect and practice.”Mei was…

Unknown armed men killed more than 80 people and injured at least 160 others in the Krinding refugee camp and elsewhere in Genena, the capital of Sudan’s West Darfur state this weekend, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.  Governor Mohamed Abdallah Al Douma also deployed hundreds of troops across the state to restore security. The trouble began Friday when a member…

Three years ago, the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban forced the well-regarded Central European University out of Budapest, largely because of who funded it — Hungarian-born American financier and philanthropist George Soros, long a target of populist conspiracy theories and a critic of Orban’s championing of “illiberal democracy.”Now the Hungarian government is pressing…

At age 22, poet Amanda Gorman, chosen to read at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, already has a history of writing for official occasions.   “I have kind of stumbled upon this genre. It’s been something I find a lot of emotional reward in, writing something I can make people feel touched by, even…

Samantha Power, nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to head the U.S. Agency for International Development, brings human rights and development experience to the role if confirmed.   “As a journalist, activist, and diplomat, I’ve seen the world-changing impact of @USAID,” Power offered in a tweet. “At this critical moment, I feel immensely fortunate to have the…

Emma is a 27-year-old Chinese national who is pregnant and living with her husband in New York. Emanuel, 23, lives in Virginia and is from Morocco. Peter, 31, moved from China in 2014. He resides in Houston, Texas.Emma, Emanuel and Peter do not know each other, but they have one thing in common: Their international…

During the pandemic some schools are able to go to a so-called “hybrid model” where some students physically go to school while others remain at home and log in virtually. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee tells us about a robot connecting students and teachers in a hybrid classroom …

Authorities in Hong Kong have reportedly charged pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong with subversion under the new national security law.  News of the new charge was posted on Wong’s Facebook account Thursday.  The 24-year-old activist is currently serving a 13-and-a-half month prison sentence for organizing an unauthorized protest in 2019.  It comes one day after at least 53…

Federal guidance for international students enrolled in U.S. universities is likely to remain the same for Spring semester 2021 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, an ICE spokesperson announced. TheFILE – Masked students walk through the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., Sept. 10, 2020. …If the international student guidance officially continues into the Spring 2021…

Young voters – specifically young Black voters – participating in the Georgia runoff election for two Senate seats are expected to provide significant support for the Democratic candidates.In the Senate race between incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, 88% of Black youth favored Ossoff, compared with 31% of white youth, in…

The Midwestern state of Indiana this year will be host to the entire men’s college basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, the NCAA announced Monday.The college athletic group is attempting to create a “bubble,” or an isolation zone, in an attempt to protect the college athletes from contracting COVID-19, the disease caused by the…

A graduate student found a fundamental flaw in published research upon which she was building her research, which led to a retraction by the original author.Susanne Stoll, a graduate student at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, said she thought she had made a mistake when trying to duplicate the results of…