Daily Archives: January 7, 2022


In Photos: Egyptians Celebrate Coptic Christmas

In Egypt, Christmas celebrations are officially sanctioned by Islamic clerics for people of all faiths, despite objections from some conservative Muslims. On Friday, January 7, the holiday season concluded with Coptic Christmas, observed by the vast majority of Christians in Egypt. For VOA, Hamada Elrasam has this photo essay, with words by Elle Kurancid.  …


Sidney Poitier, First Black Actor to Win Best Actor Academy Award, Dies at 94

Sidney Poitier, who broke through racial barriers as the first Black winner of the best actor Oscar for his role in Lilies of the Field, and inspired a generation during the civil rights movement, has died at age 94, an official from the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.  Eugene Torchon-Newry, acting director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed Poitier’s death.  Poitier created a distinguished film legacy in a single year with three 1967 films at a time when segregation prevailed in parts of the United States.  In …


US Supreme Court Reviews COVID Vaccine Mandates

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled Friday to hear oral arguments against two of President Joe Biden’s administration’s COVID-19 vaccine policies issued by government agencies to combat the deadly coronavirus. The policies “are critical to our nation’s COVID-19 response,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. The mandates coming under review were issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The OSHA policy requires employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either fully vaccinated or tested …


Beauty is Only Skin Deep in China ‘Micro-procedure’ Craze

Midday queues snake out to the street in an upmarket Shanghai neighborhood, but it’s not lunch at the city’s hottest restaurant that people are lining up for — it’s cosmetic “micro-procedures”, which are surging in popularity in China.     The “lunchtime facelift” and other “medical aesthetics” procedures are booming as a new generation of Chinese consumers grapple with the pressure to look good on social media as well as in person.    Kayla Zhang has never actually gone under the knife for cosmetic reasons, but she’s had laser treatments, injections and a …