At a March 23 product launch in Shanghai, Chinese tech giant Huawei unveiled its signature P60 series of smartphones with high-end cameras and its Mate X3 series mobile phones equipped with folding screens. There were demonstrations. There were speeches. But something was missing from the Huawei offerings: 5G, which gives phones the speedy internet access … continue reading -> “Curbed by US Sanctions, Huawei Unveils New 4G Smartphones”
Ford Motor Company’s plan to create batteries for the rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) market could encounter congressional speed bumps because of the carmaker’s plan to use technology created by a Chinese company with ties to the communist government. Ford executive chairman William Clay Ford Jr. announced in February that the company would spend $3.5 … continue reading -> “Ford Battery Plant Using Chinese Tech Raises Alarms in Congress”
Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday. Renewables also surpassed nuclear generation in 2022, after first doing so last year. Growth in wind and solar significantly drove the increase in renewable energy and contributed 14% of the electricity produced … continue reading -> “US Renewable Electricity Surpassed Coal in 2022”
The World Health Organization says about 87% of Sudanese females between ages 15 and 49 have undergone female genital mutilation, one of the highest rates in the world. A project by the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, is targeting sports clubs to engage men and boys in the fight against the practice. Henry Wilkins reports from … continue reading -> “UNICEF Talking to Sudanese Men’s Clubs About Female Genital Mutilation”
The Webb Space Telescope has found no evidence of an atmosphere at one of the seven rocky, Earth-sized planets orbiting another star. Scientists said Monday that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the planets in this solar system, some of which are in the sweet spot for harboring water and potentially life. “This is … continue reading -> “No Atmosphere Found at Faraway Earth-Sized World, Study Says”
Scientists have long known that wild seabirds ingest bits of plastic pollution as they feed, but a new study Monday shows the tiny particles don’t just clog or transit the stomach but can subvert its complex mix of good and bad bacteria, too. Plastic-infested digestive tracts from two species of Atlantic seabirds, northern fulmars and … continue reading -> “Microplastic Pollution Impairs Seabird Gut Health”
William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform. They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some longtime users, including 92-year-old Star … continue reading -> “Twitter Celebs Balk at Paying Elon Musk for Blue Check Mark”
Florida has captured more than 17,000 Burmese pythons since 2000, but tens of thousands more are likely roaming the Florida Everglades. That’s a concern because the reptiles, which are not native to the area, are gobbling up the competition. “[Pythons] can take out one of our apex predators, which are alligators and crocodiles, and then … continue reading -> “Burmese Pythons, Other Invasive Animals, Devour the Competition in Florida”
Some parts of Twitter’s source code — the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs — were leaked online, the social media company said in a legal filing on Sunday that was first reported by The New York Times. According to the legal document, filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern … continue reading -> “Twitter: Parts of its Source Code Leaked Online”
Keep an eye to the sky this week for a chance to see a planetary hangout. Five planets — Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars — will line up near the moon. Where and when can you see them? The best day to catch the whole group is Tuesday. You’ll want to look to the … continue reading -> “Five Planets Will Be Lined Up in Night Sky This Week”
Hundreds of volunteers descended on the beaches of the North Sea coast this weekend to collect sea shells as a measure of the sea’s biological diversity. While there is a serious scientific purpose to the exercise, it is also a fun day out on the coast for Belgian, French and Dutch families with kids. On … continue reading -> “North Sea Shell Survey Brings Out Volunteers”
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday lawmakers will move forward with legislation to address national security worries about TikTok, alleging China’s government had access to the short video app’s user data. In the United States, there are growing calls to ban TikTok, owned by China-based company ByteDance, or to pass bipartisan … continue reading -> “US House Speaker Says Lawmakers to Move Forward with TikTok Bill “
When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn’t ready for a massive onslaught of cases, with hospitals turning away ambulances and crematoriums burning bodies around the clock. Chinese state media claimed the decision to open up was based on “scientific analysis and shrewd calculation,” and was “by no means impulsive.” But … continue reading -> “Ignoring Experts, China’s Sudden Zero-COVID Exit Cost Lives, AP Finds”
Gordon Moore, the Intel Corp. co-founder who set the breakneck pace of progress in the digital age with a simple 1965 prediction of how quickly engineers would boost the capacity of computer chips, has died. He was 94. Moore died Friday at his home in Hawaii, according to Intel and the Gordon and Betty Moore … continue reading -> “Intel Co-Founder, Philanthropist Gordon Moore Dies at 94”
The discovery of major lithium deposits is being seen as a mixed blessing in India’s troubled Kashmir region, where hopes for a major economic boost are tempered by fears of human displacement and damage to the territory’s fragile ecology. The finding of the lithium, key to the manufacture of batteries used in electric cars and … continue reading -> “Lithium Discovery Seen as Mixed Blessing in India’s Kashmir”
A U.S. ban of Chinese-owned TikTok, the country’s most popular social media for young people, seems increasingly inevitable a day after the grilling of its CEO by Washington lawmakers from across the political divide. But the Biden administration will have to move carefully in denying 150 million Americans their favorite platform over its links to … continue reading -> “Threat of US Ban Grows After TikTok Lambasted in Congress “
Florida’s warm weather attracts millions of visitors, including animals that outstay their welcome. Wildlife brought in from somewhere else has seriously damaged the ecosystem in Florida, home to the most severe invasive animal crisis in the continental United States. VOA’s Dora Mekouar has more from Orlando. Camera: Adam Greenbaum Produced by: Dora Mekouar, Adam Greenbaum … continue reading -> “Invasive Animals Wreak Havoc in Florida”
In marking World TB Day, health officials warn the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple global crises are setting back years of progress in fighting tuberculosis and eventually ending the deadly disease. Tuberculosis, an ancient disease that some say goes back to biblical times, kills more people than any other infectious disease. The World Health Organization says … continue reading -> “COVID-19, Global Crises Hinder Progress in Ending TB”
What would turn bird flu – the kind that’s killed millions of birds around the world and a few hundred people – into the next deadly pandemic? Scientists want to know so they can get ahead of it. That’s why, in 2010, two groups of researchers were studying an avian influenza virus that killed about … continue reading -> “What To Do When Research to Stop a Pandemic Could Start One Instead”
Cameroon and Gabon have stepped up border security after neighboring Equatorial Guinea confirmed a spreading Marburg virus has killed at least nine people. Despite the controls, people are still traveling across the porous borders, raising fears the virus that causes hemorrhagic fever could spread. At the government primary school in Kye-Ossi, a town on Cameroon’s … continue reading -> “Cameroon, Gabon Reinforce Travel Restrictions After Equatorial Guinea Confirms Marburg Cases”
Several African and Latin American countries on Thursday launched a major initiative to restore 300,000 kilometers of rivers by 2030, as well as lakes and wetlands degraded by human activity. The “Freshwater Challenge,” led by a coalition of governments that includes Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico and Gabon, is the largest river … continue reading -> “Huge River Restoration Effort Launched at UN Water Summit “
Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok, pushed back Thursday against calls from US lawmakers to ban the social media app, contending that the company is not connected to the Chinese Communist Party. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more …
Tuberculosis, or TB, a bacterial infection of the lungs, is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. After decades of progress, cases are on the rise once more. March 24 is World TB Day — and as Henry Ridgwell reports, there are hopes that a vaccine may be developed in the next few years to help … continue reading -> “World TB Day Sees Global Push to Eradicate Disease by 2030”
A 3D-printed rocket goes up before crashing right back down. Plus, a new spacesuit designed with women in mind, and mysterious objects streak the California-night sky. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
The CEO of TikTok made a rare public appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he faced a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn’t be banned. Shou Zi Chew’s testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which … continue reading -> “TikTok CEO Faces Off With Congress Over Security Fears”