YouTube says it’s hiring more people to help curb videos that violate its policies. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says “some bad actors are exploiting” the Google-owned service to “mislead, manipulate, harass or even harm.” She says Google will have more than 10,000 workers address the problem by next year, though …
Ireland has struck a deal with Apple to collect up to 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in back taxes and hold it in an escrow account pending an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The government said in a statement Monday that an agreement had been …
As greenhouse gases go, methane is one of the worst. Pound for pound, it is much more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. And a good portion of it is emitted by domesticated cattle. Scientists have been working for some time on ways to cut that methane production as …
The government of Brazil’s President Michel Temer is far from assembling the coalition needed to pass a landmark pension reform, but potential supporters of the measure are now more organized, a key legislator said on Monday. “We’re still enormously far (from having the needed votes), but we have a party …
The oceans and lakes are full of life, and most of it is not visible to the naked eye. In most bodies of water, every cubic centimeter contains many microorganisms — bacteria, zooplankton as well as single-cell plants called phytoplankton — all of them important links in the natural food …
Facebook is coming for your kids. The social media giant is launching a messaging app for children to chat with their parents and with friends approved by their parents. The free app is aimed at kids under 13, who can’t yet have their own accounts under Facebook’s rules, though they …
The high-profile attendance of the leaders of Apple and Google at a Chinese conference promoting Beijing’s vision of a censored internet highlights the dilemma for Western tech companies trying to expand in an increasingly lucrative but restricted market. The event in Wuzhen, a historic canal town outside Shanghai, marked …
Luxury brands are switching gears at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. Manufacturers once known for iconic sports cars are facing an identity crisis — trying to compete with Tesla’s electric autos while still serving Americans’ love of SUVs (sport utility vehicles). Arash Arabasadi reports …
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says his government will launch a cryptocurrency (digital currency) to circumvent what he called a financial “blockade” by the U.S. government. The new currency will be called the “petro,” the leftist leader said in his TV address Sunday, and will be backed by the socialist-run, OPEC …
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday gained more powers over the OPEC member’s oil contracts, as a deepening purge looks set to strengthen the leftist leader’s control of the key energy sector amid a debilitating recession. A months-long crackdown on alleged graft in Venezuela’s oil industry has led to the …
Facebook opens its new London office on Monday and said it would add 800 more jobs in the capital next year, underlining its commitment to Britain as the country prepares for Brexit. The social network said more than half of the people working at the site in central London will …
A committee exploring the effects of recreational marijuana on Nevada’s gambling industry is wrestling with how the state’s casinos might deal with the pot business while not running afoul of federal law. Lured by a potential economic impact in the tens of millions of dollars, Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Gaming Policy …
Liz Whitehurst dabbled in several careers before she ended up on a Maryland farm, crating fistfuls of fresh-cut arugula in the November chill. The hours were better at her nonprofit jobs. So were the benefits. But two years ago, Whitehurst, 32 — who graduated from a liberal arts college and grew …
The city of Zibo, China’s ceramics capital, is undergoing environmental shock therapy to clear its filthy skies and transform its economy — and not everyone is happy. Much of Zibo’s sprawling industrial district has become a ghost town of shuttered factories, empty showrooms and abandoned restaurants after a cleanup campaign …
Fracking, at least in the U.S., has changed the country’s energy outlook. It has cut the cost of fossil fuels and turned the U.S. into a net exporter of fuel. But fracking hasn’t had the same effect in Britain, and geologists say the island nation’s unique geology means fracking will …
Toyota Motor Corporation recently unveiled a high-tech personal assistant at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. It mimics the moves of the user, which Toyota says may turn this machine into a caregiver for the elderly. Arash Arabasadi reports. …
Britain’s cybersecurity agency has told government departments not to use antivirus software from Moscow-based firm Kaspersky Lab amid concerns about Russian snooping. Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre, said “Russia is acting against the U.K.’s national interest in cyberspace.” In a letter dated Friday to civil service …
The world’s largest lithium ion battery has begun providing electricity into the power grid in South Australia. The project is a collaboration between the state government, American firm Tesla, and Neoen, a French energy company. Tesla boss Elon Musk, who was not in attendance at the switch-on, had boldly promised …
Airlines canceled more flights leaving the Indonesian island of Bali on Saturday, citing forecasts of deteriorating flying conditions because of a risk of volcanic ash from the erupting Mount Agung volcano. A Bali airport spokesman said the airport was operating normally, but airlines such as Jetstar and Virgin Australia had …
More than a century after being unearthed in Egypt, a nearly 2000-year-old mummy is giving scientists, museum curators and medical researchers a unique look at the ancient world. Faith Lapidus reports. …
President Donald Trump’s administration announced Friday that it won’t require mining companies to prove they have the financial wherewithal to clean up their pollution, despite an industry legacy of abandoned mines that have fouled waterways across the U.S. The move came after mining groups and Western-state Republicans pushed back …
Republicans pushed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill through the Senate early Saturday after burst of eleventh-hour horse trading, as a party starved all year for a major legislative triumph took a giant step toward giving President Donald Trump one of his top priorities by Christmas. “Big bills are rarely …
A Peruvian prosecutor asked a judge to jail executives of three local construction companies that had previously partnered with Brazilian builder Odebrecht, which has admitted to paying bribes in the country, chief prosecutor Pablo Sanchez said on Friday. Prosecutors started investigating the five executives of Grana y Montero, JJC Contratistas …
Venezuela’s socialist government and its opposition sought Friday to jumpstart negotiations on resolving the country’s economic and political crisis, pressured by international sanctions and a looming presidential election. The planned two-day meetings in the Dominican Republic are the first formal talks since anti-government protests collapsed in July with a toll …
Despite criticism from Washington over Cambodia’s crackdown on the opposition and accusations that the U.S. helped plot Prime Minister Hun Sen’s downfall, U.S. Ambassador William Heidt has said that America’s support for Cambodia’s economy will not be negatively impacted. Heidt told VOA’s Khmer service on Wednesday that the embassy’s mission …
From cellphones and cars, to televisions and refrigerators, more devices are being connected to the Internet. This network of connected devices is called the “Internet of Things” (IoT). Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States, is planning to use the prevalence of these IoT devices as a …