Microsoft said it’s seeing some improvement to problems with its online services including the Teams messaging platform and Outlook email system after users around the world reported outages Wednesday. In a status update, the tech company reported “service degradation” for a number of its Microsoft 365 services. Thousands of users reported problems with Teams, Outlook, … continue reading -> “Microsoft Reports Outage for Teams, Outlook, Other Services”
A chatbot powered by reams of data from the internet has passed exams at a U.S. law school after writing essays on topics ranging from constitutional law to taxation and torts. ChatGPT from OpenAI, a U.S. company that this week got a massive injection of cash from Microsoft, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate streams … continue reading -> “ChatGPT Bot Passes US Law School Exam”
Malawi has appealed for more than 7 million additional doses of cholera vaccine from the World Health Organization as it struggles to control a record outbreak of the bacterial illness. The WHO donated almost 3 million doses of the vaccine to Malawi in November but those were quickly used up. Since March of last year, … continue reading -> “Malawi Makes Fresh Appeal for Cholera Vaccine”
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Alphabet’s GOOGL.O Google on Tuesday over allegations that the company abused its dominance of the digital advertising business, according to a court document. “Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies,” the government … continue reading -> “US, 8 States Sue Google on Digital Ad Business Dominance”
A so-called space environmentalist is working to make the public more aware about space debris by tracking its movement in real time on a website. He says we need to think about space as an ecosystem. Deana Mitchell has the story. Camera: Deana Mitchell Produced by: Deana Mitchell …
The World Health Organization is appealing for a record $2.54 billion to assist millions of people in 54 countries facing catastrophic health emergencies triggered by multiple man-made and natural disasters. In launching the appeal, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world is witnessing an unprecedented convergence of crises that demand an unprecedented … continue reading -> “WHO Appeals for Record $2.54 Billion to Address 54 Global Health Emergencies”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing switching to an annual COVID-19 vaccination campaign for the country, similar to the flu shot. In documents posted online Monday, the agency said the new strategy would provide a simplified approach to the coronavirus vaccine. The proposed plan is set to be discussed at a meeting this … continue reading -> “US Proposes Switching to Annual COVID Vaccine Shots”
Far below our feet, a giant may have started moving against us. Earth’s inner core, a hot iron ball the size of Pluto, has stopped spinning in the same direction as the rest of the planet and might even be rotating the other way, research suggested on Monday. Roughly 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) below the … continue reading -> “Earth’s Inner Core May Have Started Spinning Other Way, Study Says”
The World Health Organization has called for “immediate and concerted action” to protect children from contaminated medicines after a spate of child deaths linked to cough syrups last year. In 2022, more than 300 children — mainly younger than 5 years old — in Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan died of acute kidney injury, deaths that … continue reading -> “WHO Urges ‘Immediate Action’ After Cough Syrup Deaths”
The World Health Organization is calling for the total elimination of trans fat — an artificial toxic chemical commonly found in packaged foods, baked goods, cooking oils, and spreads which is responsible for half a million premature deaths each year. WHO reports 5 billion people are being exposed to this toxic product, increasing their risk of … continue reading -> “WHO: 500K People Die Prematurely from Trans Fat Annually”
A study published in the December 2022 issue of the American Journal of Transplantation finds Canada leading the world in harvesting organs from those who received medical assistance in dying. The study found that in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, a total of 286 people who sought euthanasia provided organs to save the lives … continue reading -> “Canada Leads World in Organ Donations from Euthanasia”
The warming of the waters off the East Coast has come at an invisible, but very steep cost — the loss of microscopic organisms that make up the base of the ocean’s food chain. The growing warmth and saltiness of the Gulf of Maine off New England is causing a dramatic decrease in the production … continue reading -> “Loss of Tiny Organisms Hurts Ocean, Fishing, Scientists Say”
Brazil’s government has declared a public health emergency for the Yanomami people in the Amazon who are suffering from malnutrition and diseases such as malaria because of illegal mining. The decree, signed by Health Minister Nisia Trindade on Friday, has no expiration date and allows for hiring extra personnel. It determines that the team in … continue reading -> “Brazil Declares Public Health Emergency for Yanomami People”
Tons of waste dumped in poorly regulated riverside landfills or directly into the waterways that flow across three countries end up accumulating behind a trash barrier in the Drina River in eastern Bosnia during the wet weather of winter and early spring. This week, the barrier once again became the outer edge of a massive … continue reading -> “Sections of Balkan River Become Floating Garbage Dump”
As damaging as it was for more than 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow to fall on California since Christmas, a worst-case global warming scenario could juice up similar future downpours by one-third by the middle of this century, a new study says. The strongest of California’s storms from atmospheric rivers, long and wide … continue reading -> “Study: Warming To Make California Downpours Even Wetter”
Countless artists have taken inspiration from “The Starry Night” since Vincent Van Gogh painted the swirling scene in 1889. Now artificial intelligence systems are doing the same, training themselves on a vast collection of digitized artworks to produce new images you can conjure in seconds from a smartphone app. The images generated by tools such … continue reading -> “AI Tools Can Create New Images, But Who Is the Real Artist?”
The World Health Organization says there is no evidence that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines increase the risk of strokes in older people. WHO officials say there is no basis to the recent concerns raised by the media and science communities about the safety of the mRNA booster shots. They say the concerns, which are related to … continue reading -> “WHO: No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccines Increase Risk of Strokes in Older People”
Alphabet Inc., the parent company of tech giant Google, announced Friday it is laying off 12,000 workers across the entire company — cuts reflecting six percent of the company’s total workforce. In an email to employees Friday, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said the company saw dramatic growth over the past two years and hired … continue reading -> “Google Parent Company To Lay Off 12,000 Workers Globally”
South Korea on Friday announced an end to its indoor mask mandate, one of the country’s last major pandemic restrictions. Health authorities said as of Jan. 30, face coverings will no longer be required indoors, except in hospitals, pharmacies, and on public transportation. The move was made because a winter spike in COVID-19 cases is … continue reading -> “South Korea Ends Indoor Mask Rule, But Seoul Residents Skeptical”
Every year, the night sky grows brighter, and the stars look dimmer. A new study that analyzes data from more than 50,000 amateur stargazers finds that artificial lighting is making the night sky about 10% brighter each year. That’s a much faster rate of change than scientists had previously estimated looking at satellite data. The … continue reading -> “Twinkle, Twinkle Fading Stars: Hiding in Our Brighter Skies”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday that he was “deeply concerned” about the Chinese government’s artificial intelligence program, asserting that it was “not constrained by the rule of law.” Speaking during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wray said Beijing’s AI ambitions were “built on top of massive troves of … continue reading -> “FBI Chief Says He’s ‘Deeply Concerned’ by China’s AI Program”
As the coronavirus pandemic enters its fourth year, the United States is grappling with a new subvariant of COVID-19 called XBB.1.5, and China is reporting a spike in cases following the dismantling of its zero-COVID policy. VOA’s Laurel Bowman reports. …
Software giant Microsoft on Wednesday became the latest major company in the tech sector to announce significant job cuts when it reported it would lay off 10,000 employees, or about 5% of its workforce. Microsoft’s job cuts come just as e-commerce leader Amazon begins a fresh round of 18,000 layoffs, extending a wave of other … continue reading -> “Tech Layoffs Mount as Microsoft, Amazon Shed Staff”
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg is set to meet International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol in Davos on Thursday, organizers of a fringe round-table event at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting told Reuters. Thunberg is to meet Birol along with fellow campaigners Helena Gualinga, Vanessa Nakate and Luisa Neubauer, the organizers said in a … continue reading -> “Activist Thunberg to Meet Energy Chief at Davos”
The impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine is being felt as far away as Indian-administered Kashmir, where ornithologists see the conflict as contributing to a shortage of migratory birds which make their way each winter from Europe to the wetlands of the Kashmir Valley. Every February, the wildlife protection department conducts a census of migratory … continue reading -> “War in Ukraine Blamed for Missing Migratory Birds in Kashmir “