Brazil’s worst-ever recession intensified unexpectedly in the final quarter of 2016, data showed on Tuesday, frustrating hopes for signs of a recovery and stepping up pressure on President Michel Temer and the central bank to do more to promote growth. Brazil’s gross domestic product contracted by 3.6 percent last year, …
Swiss firms from food and beverage giant Nestle to banking groups UBS and Credit Suisse pledged new goals on Tuesday for supporting and promoting women. While Switzerland has Europe’s second-highest proportion of women in the workforce, it trails global standards on gender diversity in boardrooms and in management positions. Consultancies …
A German court rejected a temporary injunction against Facebook on Tuesday in a case brought by a Syrian refugee who sued the social networking site for failing to remove faked posts linking him to crimes and militant attacks. The Wuerzburg district court said in a preliminary ruling that Facebook is …
Facebook has launched a tool it says will help flag so-called fake news. The tool adds a “disputed news” flag on stories that have been deemed fake by what Facebook says are third parties, including Snopes, Politifact and Factcheck.org. Facebook announced the disputed news flag in December, but it appears …
From lasers that cut denim at a factory, to drones that irrigate crops, it’s not a new story that machines are doing more work than ever. But people have long feared that robots are coming for their jobs, so technology evangelists now are calling on their peers to build a …
More developing countries urgently need insurance to cushion their farmers against weather extremes that can worsen poverty, but it is no magic bullet to ward off the escalating impacts of climate change, experts say. The burning question of how to stop drought becoming a major crisis — especially in Africa …
As China’s economy slows to growth rates not seen in more than a quarter of century, the country’s Communist Party rulers are under increasing pressure to create jobs. Millions enter the workforce each year, and as China tries to reduce overcapacity in steel and coal industries a growing number …
In Malawi, the head of the former ruling party is expected in court Tuesday on allegations he fraudulently granted citizenship documents to more than 50 foreigners in 2013 when he was minister of home affairs. Uladi Mussa surrendered himself Monday at the office of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, or ACB, in …
Young adults who spend a lot of time looking for social connections on social media could instead find themselves feeling socially isolated, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at the social media habits of 1,787 American adults aged 19 to 32, asking them how much they used 11 popular social …
Oil and gas companies, including some of the most celebrated industry names in the Houston area, are facing increasingly sophisticated hackers seeking to steal trade secrets and disrupt operations, according to a newspaper investigation. A stretch of the Gulf Coast near Houston features one of the largest concentrations of refineries, …
Twitter introduced new safety measures this week meant to crack down on online harassment and protect people from viewing offensive material, but some free-speech advocates are concerned the changes could lead to censorship of unpopular ideas. The social media company announced Wednesday that it would start hiding potentially menacing tweets, …
It may seem odd that the world’s largest land mammal would be afraid of bees, but Kenya-based research and conservation group Save the Elephants has used the elephants’ fear of being stung around the eyes, mouth and trunk to deter them from crop-raiding. It is doing this through “beehive fences,” …
Scientists and engineers are constantly looking for more efficient ways to harvest energy from sustainable sources, such as the sun, wind, ocean waves and river flows. Researchers from Brown University have teamed up with a company from Rhode Island to build an innovative power generator suitable for slow-flowing rivers and …
Keeping the Chinese economy steaming ahead is a priority for China’s Communist Party leaders. That issue and others will be topics in the coming days when China hosts high-level political meetings in Beijing. To better understand some of the challenges the world’s second-largest economy faces, VOA’s Bill Ide visited Shenyang, …
China says its defense budget will increase by about 7 percent this year, marking the second year in a row China has kept its military spending to a single digit percentage increase. The exact number for defense spending in 2017 will be released Sunday when parliament begins its annual session. …
We are in the midst of a mobile tech revolution that promises to change the way we live, say industry experts at this week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, where the ‘Internet of Things’ and superfast 5G technologies are all the rage. But even the most basic mobile …
We are in the midst of a mobile tech revolution that promises to change the way we live, say industry experts at this week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, where ‘Internet of Things’ and superfast 5G technologies are all the rage. But even the most basic mobile technology …
Demand for gasoline in the United States, which accounts for a tenth of global oil consumption, is expected to peak next year as engines become more efficient, WoodMackenzie analysts said. Global demand for gasoline, which accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s oil consumption, is set to peak …
South Korean companies Friday bore the brunt of Chinese anger over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system outside Seoul, as shares tumbled after media reports of Beijing tour operators being ordered to stop selling trips to the country. Cosmetics makers, retailers, automakers and airlines were among the biggest …
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, better known as drones, are increasingly being used in emergency situations. But safety concerns in a congested airspace prompted the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, to limit their use. Researchers from the University of Maryland hope the regulations will be eased for drones making emergency medical deliveries. …
Puffing on a cigar at Cuba’s annual Habanos cigar festival, American aficionado Paul Segal said he would buy as many boxes of cigars as he could carry home in case U.S. President Donald Trump tightens regulations on visitors to the communist-run island again. Segal, who writes a cigar blog called …
Amazon.com has launched a new program to help students build capabilities into its voice-controlled assistant Alexa, the company told Reuters, the latest move by a technology firm to nurture ideas and talent in artificial intelligence research. The e-commerce company said it was paying for a yearlong doctoral fellowship at four …
Smartphones have replaced lots of other accessories — cameras, flashlights, calculators. But many people are still reluctant to swap the wallets in their pockets for their digital counterparts. A key reason consumers are hesitant to adopt mobile payment systems like Apple Pay and Android Pay, surveys say, is fear about …
Researchers at Egypt’s Nile University are developing a way to turn dried shrimp shells that would otherwise be thrown away into thin films of biodegradable plastic they hope will be used to make eco-friendly grocery bags and packaging. Six months into their two-year project, the research team has managed to …
China’s government says it will support the World Trade Organization, arguing that an “open and unbiased” trading system benefits global economic growth and is in everyone’s interest. Beijing’s comments come just a day after the Trump administration said it might not comply with WTO rulings it judged to violate American …
Following a drastic decline in his small business after India scrapped 86 percent of its currency in November, fruit hawker Khubi Ram switched to selling vegetables, which are more of an essential household purchase. “My two helpers headed back to their villages, they had no money. I had to somehow …