Washington — TikTok said Sunday it was restoring service to users in the United States after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban that President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office. Trump said he planned to issue the order to … continue reading -> “TikTok: it’s restoring service to US users based on Trump’s promised executive order “
WASHINGTON — TikTok stopped working in the United States late on Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores ahead of a law that takes effect Sunday requiring the shutdown of the app used by 170 million Americans. President-elect Donald Trump said earlier in the day he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve … continue reading -> “TikTok goes dark for US users; company pins hope on Trump”
Labels on wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages in the U.S. would be required to list alcohol content and nutritional information per serving, plus notification of potential allergens, under two new rules proposed Thursday by the Treasury Department. The department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is seeking public content on proposals to require … continue reading -> “Proposed rules would require nutrition info, allergen warnings on US alcohol labels “
PHUKET, THAILAND — Plastic bottles and empty beer cans roll on the sea floor in the waters around Phuket in southern Thailand, while ever more garbage piles up on the island itself, a tourist hotspot better known for its pristine beaches and stunning sunsets. In one corner of the island, trucks and tractors trundle back and … continue reading -> “Thai resort island Phuket grapples with growing garbage crisis”
SpaceX says a fire might have caused its Starship to break during liftoff and send trails of flaming debris near the Caribbean. SpaceX’s Elon Musk said preliminary indications are that leaking fuel built up pressure in the cavity above the engine firewall. The resulting fire would have doomed the spacecraft. On Friday, the Federal Aviation … continue reading -> “SpaceX says fire could have caused Starship to break, spew debris near Caribbean”
BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Malawi’s government launched a plan Thursday to stop cholera outbreaks by 2030. Officials say that if the government and international partners can effectively cooperate, they can greatly reduce the prevalence of cholera in the southern African country, where it has killed at least 1,700 people over the past three years. Partners include the … continue reading -> “Malawi takes steps to end cholera outbreaks by 2030”
WASHINGTON — Hours after Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation mega rocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic. In terms of sheer excitement, Elon Musk’s company didn’t disappoint, underscoring its technical prowess by … continue reading -> “SpaceX catches Starship booster again, but upper stage explodes”
With a pending law declaring the social media application TikTok illegal in the United States, set to take effect on Sunday, the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is signaling that it plans to try to find a way to prevent the service from going offline. Under current law, the service’s parent company, China-based … continue reading -> “Trump team might step in to save TikTok from pending US ban”
People hospitalized for flu should be tested for bird flu within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, in an expansion of the agency’s efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans. The advisory is intended to prevent delays in identifying human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses amid … continue reading -> “US CDC recommends faster testing for bird flu in hospitalized patients”
GENEVA — The World Health Organization appealed Thursday for $1.5 billion for emergency operations this year, warning that conflict, climate change, epidemics and displacement had converged to create an “unprecedented global health crisis.” The U.N. health agency estimated that health crises would leave 305 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance this year. “WHO is … continue reading -> “WHO appeals for $1.5 billion to tackle ‘unprecedented’ global health crisis”
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he wants the United States to be the world leader in artificial intelligence and crypto currency. To that end, he has tapped a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor to be the AI and crypto czar. Michelle Quinn has the story. …
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Blue Origin’s giant New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida early Thursday morning on its first mission to space, an inaugural step into Earth’s orbit for Jeff Bezos’ space company as it aims to rival SpaceX in the satellite launch business. Thirty stories tall with a reusable first stage, New Glenn launched … continue reading -> “Bezos’ Blue Origin reaches orbit in first New Glenn launch, misses booster landing”
BENGALURU — India became the world’s fourth nation on Thursday to achieve the feat of space docking, a technological milestone that underscores its ambitions to expand its share of a rapidly growing $400-billion global space market. Target and Chaser, two satellites of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that are each roughly the size of a … continue reading -> “Indian space agency achieves satellite docking milestone”
On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would implement new export controls on certain biotechnology equipment, citing national security concerns relating to artificial intelligence and data science. The Commerce Department warned that China could use the biotech equipment’s technology to bolster its military capabilities and help design new weapons using artificial intelligence. The … continue reading -> “US imposes export controls on biotech equipment over AI security concerns”
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — As TikTok’s Sunday deadline to divest or face a U.S. ban approaches, hundreds of thousands of American users of the popular social media video app say they are migrating to another Chinese social media app, Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. Dubbing themselves “TikTok Refugees,” some say they are making the move in search of a … continue reading -> “US ‘TikTok Refugees’ migrate to another Chinese app as ban looms”
ARUSHA, Tanzania — The World Health Organization said Wednesday an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania. “We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We would expect further cases in coming … continue reading -> “WHO says suspected outbreak of Marburg disease kills 8 in remote part of Tanzania “
Two moon landers built by private U.S. and Japanese companies are on their way to the moon after lifting off early Wednesday on a shared ride aboard a SpaceX rocket. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the latest in a public-private program that put a spacecraft from Intuitive Machines on the … continue reading -> “US, Japanese companies send landers on moon missions”
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden signed on Tuesday an executive order to boost development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in America. A day earlier, his administration announced sweeping measures to block access to the most advanced semiconductors by China and other adversaries. But the U.S. left India, its strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific, off a list … continue reading -> “Why did US exclude India from unrestricted access to AI chips?”
Elon Musk was sued on Tuesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the world’s richest person of waiting too long to disclose in 2022 he had amassed a large stake in Twitter, the social media company he later bought. In a complaint filed in Washington, the SEC said Musk violated federal securities … continue reading -> “US SEC sues Elon Musk over late disclosure of Twitter stake”
The White House says it has finalized rules that crack down on Chinese and Russian automobile technology effectively banning all personal smart cars from the two countries from entering the U.S. market. In a White House fact sheet detailing the decision, the Biden administration Tuesday said that while connected vehicles offer advantages, the involvement of … continue reading -> “US finalizes rules banning Chinese, Russian smart cars”
China says HMPV infections in the northern part of the country are declining. News of increased respiratory illnesses in China kindled international concerns about another potential pandemic. But, as VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, medical experts say HMPV is nothing like COVID-19. VOA Mandarin contributed to this report. …
— U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order Tuesday directing the development of artificial intelligence data centers on six federal land sites, with a special focus on powering them with clean energy and upholding high labor standards. Biden said in a statement that the United States is the world leader in AI, but cannot take … continue reading -> “Biden issues executive order for building AI data centers on federal land “
LONDON — Britain’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it would investigate Google’s search services using its new powers to see how they impact consumers and businesses, including advertisers, news publishers and rival search engines. The Competition and Markets Authority, which has gained new powers to examine big tech, said search was vital for economic growth and … continue reading -> “UK’s antitrust regulator to investigate Google’s search services”
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin will try again to launch its massive new rocket as early as Tuesday after calling off the debut launch because of ice buildup in critical plumbing. The 98-meter New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn Monday with a prototype satellite. But ice formed in a purge line … continue reading -> “Jeff Bezos’ space company tries to launch rocket after last-minute postponement”
Elon Musk said a third person has received an implant from his brain-computer interface company Neuralink, one of many groups working to connect the nervous system to machines. “We’ve got … three humans with Neuralinks and all are working well,” he said during a recent wide-ranging interview at a Las Vegas event streamed on his … continue reading -> “Elon Musk says third patient got Neuralink brain implant”