U.S. intelligence agencies say that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election in part through online propaganda. But a new report shows the United States was not the only target. According to the 2017 “Freedom on the Net” report, disinformation campaigns are increasing as Internet freedom declines globally. VOA’s Jesusemen …
Before advanced satellites and drones started collecting military intelligence, the U.S. relied on high-flying supersonic aircraft that could quickly penetrate the airspace of adversary countries, take pictures and exit before being caught. The last of those planes, retired in 1998, still holds several world records. But now, spy planes can …
Mexico will respond to U.S. demands for changes in content rules for autos and an automatic expiration clause in the NAFTA trade deal when negotiations on reworking the accord begin again this week, a top government official said on Tuesday. A fifth round of talks to overhaul the North American …
Germany on Tuesday pledged $125 million to boost the work of an international insurance partnership that aims to cover 400 million more poor and vulnerable people against disaster risks by 2020. That goal was first set in 2015 by the G7 group of wealthy nations, but the effort has now …
How do you obtain the freshest, locally grown produce in a big city? For an increasing number of urbanites, the answer is to grow it yourself. Cam MacKugler can help. MacKugler was at the recent Food Loves Tech event in Brooklyn, New York showing off Seedsheets, roll-out fabric sheets embedded …
About 15 percent of U.S. federal agencies have reported some trace of Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab software on their systems, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told Congress on Tuesday. Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for cybersecurity at DHS, told a U.S. House of Representatives panel that 94 percent of agencies …
Japan is stepping up aid and investment in Southeast Asia to help its multinationals do business across the continent while vying with political rival China for long-term influence over smaller neighboring countries. The wealthy Asian nation is helping build a train line near Manila, a seaport in Cambodia and new …
Around the world, Internet freedom is deteriorating, with some governments taking down their mobile Internet service, restricting live video streaming and employing a digital army of pro-government commentators. These are some of the findings of “Freedom on the Net 2017,” an annual report by Freedom House, a global non-profit that …
General Electric’s new Chief Executive John Flannery on Monday outlined steps that will turn the biggest U.S. industrial conglomerate into a smaller, more focused company, surprising some investors who sold the company’s shares to a five-year low. Flannery’s plan to shrink GE’s multi-industry array of businesses was a reversal of …
Mexico’s government is preparing a macroeconomic response in case U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on threats to quit the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an event which could wreak havoc on the Mexican economy and hurt the peso. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Monday the government …
Venezuela’s socialist government welcomed scores of creditors on Monday for talks intended to renegotiate a crippling foreign debt and avert a default that could compound the once-prosperous OPEC nation’s economic crisis. About 100 investors — including some bondholders from New York, and lawyers and representatives for others — gathered at …
The federal government began its new budget year with an October deficit of $63.2 billion, up sharply from a year ago. The Treasury Department reported Monday that the October deficit was 37.9 percent higher than the $45.8 billion deficit recorded in October 2016. Both government receipts and spending were up …
Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm on Monday rejected rival Broadcom Ltd.’s $103-billion takeover bid, saying the offer undervalued the company and would face regulatory hurdles. Shares of Qualcomm rose as much as 2.5 percent to $66.17, while those of Broadcom fell as much as 1.3 percent to $261.55. “The Board has concluded …
Ash Bhat and Rohan Phadte, computer science students, recently stared at a screen in their Berkeley apartment showing the Twitter account of someone called “Red Pilled Leah.” They suspected she was a “bot,” short for robot. Red Pilled Leah joined Twitter in 2011 and had 165,000 followers. The majority of …
Flying drones are nothing new in the skies, but online retailers have been investing in them as a way to deliver goods faster and to those in hard-to-reach rural areas. But the automation doesn’t stop there. Arash Arabasadi reports. …
The United Nations says Asia Pacific countries need to address issues surrounding the rights of migrant workers as international talks move toward a Global Compact on migrant labor. The Global Compact’s rise, with a final agreement set for 2018, was a result of the migrant crisis faced by the European …
Venezuela’s foreign debt renegotiation committee will meet with creditors at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Monday at the government’s “White Palace” in downtown Caracas, the finance minister said on Saturday. “Once again, we invite investors to register their participation in this meeting,” Simon Zerpa, who is also the finance boss …
Emirates Airlines agreed to buy 40 Boeing 787-10s in a deal worth more than $15 billion. The purchase was announced Sunday at the Dubai Air Show by the largest airline in the Middle East. Deliveries of the wide-body, twin-engine planes are set to begin in 2022. Boeing’s website says the …
The biennial Dubai Air Show opened Sunday with hometown long-haul carrier Emirates making a $15.1 billion buy of Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners, as the world’s biggest defense companies promoted their weapons amid heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Other airlines also are taking part, but missing from the trade show …
West Virginia could produce profitable niche crops grown on reclaimed mine sites. At least that’s what Nathan Hall, president of Reclaim Appalachia envisions. Hall spoke about uses for reclaimed sites at the West Virginia Good Jobs Conference last Tuesday at Tamarack. The goal of the conference is to bring together …
Prepare to be amazed … and possibly terrified. Engineers in Zurich have created a four-legged robot that may one day do labor that is dangerous for humans. It’s also equipped with thermal cameras, which means the “ANYmal” may one day keep an eye on you. Arash Arabasadi reports. …
Ranchers in the Midwestern U.S. state of Nebraska are raising beef for tables in China, reopening trade suspended more than a decade ago during concerns over mad cow disease. From Nebraska, VOA reporter Abby Sun tells us how U.S. beef producers are changing to meet Chinese food-safety requirements. …
In Cambodia, one of Asia’s poorest countries, the rapid improvement in internet connectivity and availability of affordable smartphones has been a great leveler. Many of its roughly 15 million urban and rural inhabitants have gained, in a short time, access to mobile internet and social media, which provide relatively free …
The World Robot Olympiad, being held in Costa Rica this weekend, shows human athletes still have little to worry about: Sweat and glory do not compute well when relegated to faceless automatons. But the same may not be true for workers, especially those in menial or transport activities where robots …
Afghanistan has received an inaugural consignment of wheat from India through an Iranian port, opening a new trade and transit route for the landlocked nation that bypasses neighboring Pakistan. The strategic sea route, officials say, will help improve trade and transit connectivity between Kabul and New Delhi. It will also …