If this week’s WikiLeaks document dump is genuine, it includes a CIA list of the many and varied ways the electronic device in your hand, in your car, and in your home can be used to hack your life. It’s simply more proof that, “it’s not a matter of if …
New U.S. solar installations nearly doubled last year, but slowing demand for both residential and large-scale systems, falling panel prices and concerns about looming federal tax reform are still dampening investor appetite for the sector. Solar installations soared 97 percent to 14.8 gigawatts in 2016, according to a report released …
It’s a major natural disaster that slowly grows in one place and then moves across a region, gaining intensity and size. As it spreads, it destroys land, ruins agriculture and tears apart communities, and it can kill people. It’s a drought. Researchers are just beginning to view droughts as this …
China has given preliminary approval to a raft of trademark requests from President Donald Trump’s business empire, renewing concerns of ethics watchdogs that the president’s private dealings conflict with his role as leader of a world superpower, and therefore violate the U.S. Constitution. Trump attorneys filed the 38 trademark applications …
With the broad release of Google Assistant last week, the voice-assistant wars are in full swing, with Apple, Amazon.com, Microsoft and now Alphabet’s Google all offering electronic assistants to take your commands. Siri is the oldest of the bunch, and researchers including Oren Etzioni, chief executive officer of the Allen …
One of Hawaii’s islands may soon be powered by solar energy, at least during the night. In the biggest project since it acquired the solar cell giant SolarCity, the Tesla company will build a 13-megawatt solar farm on the island of Kauai, covering more than 44 acres (18 hectares). The …
China is seeking an international agreement to enhance state control over the internet in order to fight cyberattacks and cyberterrorism. Beijing wants to extend the existing idea of sovereignty over land and sea to cyberspace. Beijing has released its first white paper discussing how it will persuade different countries to …
On Pingtung jail’s sunlit roof, prisoner No. 24 has a view of a brighter future. Ex-cop Chen, serving time for bribery, is learning how to install solar panels in a program that’s part of Taiwan’s shimmering vision of a future without nuclear power. The 48-year-old is working on a project …
Powered exoskeletons may help people with weak muscles move better. Exoskeletons are often made from metal, which means their joints are rigid. Now researchers at a university in Switzerland are working on flexible, rubber robots that could replace the metal joints in exoskeletons, making them far more flexible. VOA’s Deborah …
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Wednesday that substantial negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement likely will not get started until the latter part of this year and could take a year to complete. Ross, speaking to Bloomberg Television, said U.S. legal notification requirements with partners …
Nike will launch a hijab for female Muslim athletes early next year, becoming the first major sports apparel maker to offer a traditional Islamic head scarf designed specifically for competition, the company said on Wednesday. The head covering, marketed under the “Pro Hijab” brand, is designed to allow athletes to …
Major technology firms say they are moving to fix any vulnerabilities in their operating systems, a day after WikiLeaks released documents pertaining to an alleged CIA hacking arsenal capable of spying on people through microphones in mobile phones and other electronic devices, such as smart televisions. In a statement issued …
The productivity of American workers grew at a slower pace in fourth quarter and last year recorded the smallest annual gain in five years. The Labor Department said Wednesday that productivity grew at a 1.3 percent annual pace from October through December, down from 3.3 percent in the third quarter. …
Home-renting site Airbnb is providing women with a new way to earn money and build businesses with more women than men on the site and women in Kenya gaining the most, the company said on Tuesday. Airbnb said women have outnumbered men using the site since its 2008 launch and …
China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, paving the way for President Donald Trump and his family to develop a host of branded businesses from hotels to insurance to bodyguard and escort services, public documents show. Trump’s lawyers in China applied for the marks in April 2016, …
When the Trump administration issued its executive order in Janurary restricting travelers from certain countries, many tech companies and their employees were quick to express their objections. But now, with the new executive order out limiting travel to the U.S. for people from six countries, the response from Silicon Valley …
Staying up late into the night, Lilia Lobato Martinez watched endless YouTube videos to teach herself the computer code she used to help build her prize-winning Ool app for volunteers in Guadalajara, Mexico. In her country, she is usually the only woman in tech competitions, which often hand out men’s …
Hundreds of Egyptians protested around the country on Tuesday, blocking roads and surrounding government offices, after a change to the way bread rations are managed raised fears that the government was cutting food subsidies by the back door. Bread subsidies are an explosive issue in Egypt, where over 70 million …
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 …