After more than half a century, the last Boeing 747 rolled out of a Washington state factory on Tuesday. The 747 jumbo jet has taken on numerous roles — a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft — since it debuted in 1969. It … continue reading -> “Boeing’s Final 747 Rolls Out of Washington State Factory”

U.S. President Joe Biden was in Arizona Tuesday promoting investments in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. He was joined by officials from the Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC, which says it is tripling its Arizona investment. VOA correspondent Michelle Quinn has our story. …

U.S. President Joe Biden is traveling to Arizona on Tuesday to visit a computer chip facility, underscoring the Grand Canyon state’s position in the emerging U.S. semiconductor ecosystem. Biden will visit a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) plant in north Phoenix. He will tour the plant and deliver remarks celebrating his economic plan and the … continue reading -> “Biden to Visit Arizona Computer Chip Facility”

Three Chinese astronauts landed in a northern desert on Sunday after six months working to complete construction of the Tiangong station, a symbol of the country’s ambitious space program, state TV reported. A capsule carrying commander Chen Dong and astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe touched down at a landing site in the Gobi Desert … continue reading -> “3 Chinese Astronauts Return to Earth After 6-Month Mission”

With Ukraine scrambling to keep communication lines open during the war, an army of engineers from the country’s phone companies has mobilized to help the public and policymakers stay in touch during repeated Russian missile and drone strikes. The engineers, who typically go unseen and unsung in peacetime, often work around the clock to maintain … continue reading -> “Ukrainian Engineers Scramble to Keep Mobile Phones Working”

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said his Neuralink company is seeking permission to test its brain implant in people soon. In a “show and tell” presentation livestreamed Wednesday night, Musk said his team is in the process of asking U.S. regulators to allow them to test the device. He said he thinks the company should be … continue reading -> “Musk’s Company Aims to Soon Test Brain Implant in People”

The United States is pushing to regain its position as a center for semiconductor manufacturing and research as part of a Biden administration plan to make the nation less reliant on supply chains in Asia. VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports from the Southwest state of Arizona on competition for billions of dollars in federal funding to … continue reading -> “Arizona Aims to Become a Semiconductor Powerhouse”

The International Energy Agency says 13% of cars sold worldwide this year will be electric. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles that consumer demand for electric vehicles is increasing as the industry overcomes technical hurdles. …

Twitter took longer to review hateful content and removed less of it in 2022 compared with the previous year, according to European Union data released Thursday. The EU figures were published as part of an annual evaluation of online platforms’ compliance with the 27-nation bloc’s code of conduct on disinformation. Twitter wasn’t alone; most other … continue reading -> “Twitter, Others Slip on Removing Hate Speech, EU Review Says”

Elon Musk reinstated Donald Trump’s account on Twitter on Saturday, reversing a ban that has kept the former president off the social media site since a pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was poised to certify Joe Biden’s election victory. Musk made the announcement in the evening after holding … continue reading -> “Musk Restores Trump’s Twitter Account After Online Poll”

Authorities in Botswana are reporting increased thefts of lithium batteries from mobile phone towers amid a surge in global demand for the battery in electric vehicles. The southern African nation’s biggest mobile network operator says it has lost more than $100,000 worth of lithium batteries in the past week alone. Botswana police spokesperson Diteko Motube … continue reading -> “Botswana Records Surge in Lithium Batteries Theft as Global Demand Soars”

NASA once again makes moonshot history. Plus, the space agency’s astronauts take a stroll, and a piece of tragic space history found by accident. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.   …

Taiwan’s envoy to a gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders is the 91-year-old billionaire founder of a computer chip manufacturing giant that operated behind the scenes for decades before being thrust into the center of U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and security. Morris Chang’s hybrid role highlights the clash between Taiwan’s status as one of China’s top tech … continue reading -> “Taiwan’s APEC Envoy at the Center of Processor Chip Tension”

With Twitter’s human rights team eliminated, legal experts voice alarm about what it could mean for users around the world. Tina Trinh reports. Camera: Daniel Brody. …

NASA is kicking off its new moon program with a test flight of a brand-new rocket and capsule. Liftoff was slated for early Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test flight aims to send an empty crew capsule into a far-flung lunar orbit, 50 years after NASA’s famed Apollo moonshots. The project is … continue reading -> “EXPLAINER: Nasa’s New Mega Moon Rocket, Orion Crew Capsule”

FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday that the bureau has “national security concerns” about popular short-form video hosting app TikTok as the Chinese-owned company seeks U.S. government approval to continue operating in the country. Speaking during a U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee hearing on “worldwide threats to the homeland,” Wray said the … continue reading -> “FBI Says It has ‘National Security Concerns’ About TikTok”

Search giant Google has agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states to resolve an investigation into how the company tracked users’ locations, state attorneys general announced Monday.  The states’ investigation was sparked by a 2018 Associated Press story, which found that Google continued to track people’s location data even after they opted out … continue reading -> “40 States Settle Google Location-tracking Charges for $392 Million”

It’s not easy being Elon Musk. That was the message the new Twitter owner and billionaire head of Tesla and SpaceX had for younger people who might seek to emulate his entrepreneurial success. “Be careful what you wish for,” Musk told a business forum in Bali on Monday when asked what an up-and-coming “Elon Musk … continue reading -> “Musk Touches on Twitter Criticism, Workload at G20 Forum”

Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk is further gutting the teams that battle misinformation on the social media platform as outsourced moderators learned over the weekend they were out of a job. Twitter and other big social media firms have relied heavily on contractors to track hate and enforce rules against harmful content. But many of … continue reading -> “Musk’s Latest Twitter Cuts: Outsourced Content Moderators”

Australian researchers have identified 1,500 additional locations across the country that could be used as pumped storage hydropower facilities. They have said it should reduce Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels. Academics at the Australian National University have said pumped storage hydropower is a “low-cost, mass storage option” that could help Australia reach its emissions reduction … continue reading -> “Researchers Identify More Potential Hydro Energy Storage Sites “

Twitter paused its recently announced $8 blue check subscription service Friday as fake accounts mushroomed and new owner Elon Musk brought back the “official” badge to some users of the social media platform. The coveted blue check mark was previously reserved for verified accounts of politicians, famous personalities, journalists and other public figures. But a … continue reading -> “Musk Halts Twitter’s Blue Check Fee Program Amid Flood of Impostors”

Crypto exchange FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy proceedings on Friday and founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO, in a stunning downfall that has sent shock waves through markets and drawn calls for better regulation of the digital industry. The distressed crypto trading platform had been struggling to raise billions in funds to stave off … continue reading -> “Crypto Firm FTX Files for Bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried Exits”

The widespread retrenchment in the U.S. technology industry has thrown thousands of workers in Silicon Valley out of work, a trend greatly amplified on Wednesday by Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, which announced it would eliminate 13% of its workforce, amounting to more than 11,000 jobs. The announcement followed on the heels of … continue reading -> “Meta Layoffs Deepen Silicon Valley’s Jobs Losses”

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter comes as the U.S. holds midterm elections this week, with observers warning that online misinformation about the credibility of the electoral process can have real-world effects. Is Twitter, under Musk, ready? Tina Trinh reports. Michelle Quinn contributed. …

Facebook parent company Meta is preparing to begin large-scale layoffs this week, according to U.S. media reports.  The layoffs, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, are expected to affect thousands of employees and would be the company’s first job cuts of this scale in its 18-year history.  The job cuts are expected … continue reading -> “Facebook Parent Company Meta Reportedly Planning Large-scale Layoffs”