In Algeria, it was banned from bidding for public contracts after one of its executives was convicted of bribery. In Zambia, it was probed over allegations of bribery involving a multi-million-dollar contract to build cell towers in rural areas. In the Solomon Islands, it was accused of offering …
Smart Watch Fights Flu and Diabetes, Helps Couples Get Pregnant
Scientists are helping patients fight flu, diabetes and other maladies with the help of a smart watch that monitors body chemistry for blood sugar, sweat and other data. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas say it can also help couples get pregnant by tracking the stress. Mariia Prus …
EV Charging Designed to be Cheaper, Greener and Data Provider
A new kind of electric car charging point has been switched on in London. It’s designed to make electric vehicle, or EV, charging infrastructure cheaper and greener. It also acts as a data port, as VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …
Top US University Suspends New Research Projects with Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei
One of the world’s top research universities, the U.S.-based University of California, Berkeley, has stopped new research projects with Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecommunications giant. The university’s suspension, which took effect on January 30, came after the U.S. Department of Justice filed criminal charges against the corporation and some of …
Most of 2030’s Jobs Haven’t Been Invented Yet
Up to 85 percent of the jobs that today’s college students will have in 11 years haven’t been invented yet. That’s according to a panel of experts assembled by the Institute for the Future, although an exact percentage is impossible to predict. The IFTF, a nonprofit that seeks to identify …
Virtual Reality Training Prepares Volunteers for Urban War Zones
There is no real preparation for dealing with the reality of being in a combat zone. But training helps, and that’s the idea behind a virtual reality exercise that the International Committee of the Red Cross is providing to field employees. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
Apple to Contribute to Teen’s Education for Spotting FaceTime Bug
Apple Inc. on Thursday rolled out software updates to iPhones to fix a privacy issue in its FaceTime video calling service, and said it would contribute toward the education of the Arizona teenager who discovered the problem. The software bug, which had let users hear audio from people who had not yet answered a …
Apple Puts Modem Engineering Unit Into Chip Design Group
Apple Inc has moved its modem chip engineering effort into its in-house hardware technology group from its supply chain unit, two people familiar with the move told Reuters, a sign the tech company is looking to develop a key component of its iPhones after years of buying it from outside …
Germany to Restrict Facebook’s Data Gathering Activities
Facebook has been ordered to curb its data collection practices in Germany after a landmark ruling on Thursday that the world’s largest social network abused its market dominance to gather information about users without their consent. Germany, where privacy concerns run deep, is in the forefront of a global backlash …
Scientists Devise New Earthquake Warning System
Californians are bracing for what could be the next big earthquake. Scientists have developed a new early warning system relying on sensors and an algorithm to help prepare. Deana Mitchell reports. …
From Dorm to Dominance: Growing Pains as Facebook Turns 15
Facebook, trudging through its awkward teenage years, is turning 15 on Monday. Launched in 2004 as “TheFacebook,” the service was originally intended only for Harvard students. It’s now a massive global business that connects some 2.3 billion users. It was born in an era of desktop computers, years before …
Tech Women in Silicon Valley Likely to Be Foreign-Born
Pushpa Ithal may not fit the stereotype of the typical Silicon Valley CEO — she’s female, foreign-born, and a mother. Nevertheless, Ithal is an entrepreneur, living the Silicon Valley dream of running her own startup. Like her, many foreign-born tech women are finding a place in the Valley — as …
Social Media Giants Blamed for British Teenage Suicides
“She had so much to offer.” Ian Russell is speaking of his 14-year-old daughter Molly, the youngest of three sisters, who committed suicide in 2017, leaving a note that read, “I am sorry. I did this because of me.” After Molly’s suicide, her parents examined the teenager’s social media use …
Robots Dance, Tell Jokes, Serve Dinner, Give Us a Glimpse of the Future
Owners of a new café in the Hungarian capital Budapest are using robotics as a way of giving their customers a new experience. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …
Start a Start-up: University in Texas Helps Students Become Entrepreneurs
In December 2018, Apple announced its plans to build a new campus in Austin. Texas is rapidly becoming more and more attractive for tech companies and is often called a second Silicon Valley, thanks to affordable housing, highly qualified workers and the abundance of universities that train IT professionals. Mariia …
Scientists Enlist Incredibly Tiny Allies in Cancer Fight
Researchers and doctors are using incredibly tiny particles — fluorescent nanoparticles — in a quest for new ways to fight cancer. Some nanoparticles, just billionths of a meter across, are engineered to carry special dye that glows when it hits cancer cells. Oregon State University scientists say this makes it …
End of an Era: China-Silicon Valley Relationship Chills
The trade dispute between the U.S. and China is disrupting Silicon Valley. What had been a steady flow of Chinese money into tech firms appears to be slowing. Investors are concerned about the “headline risk” of doing business with Chinese investors. And in some cases, U.S. startups are shunning Chinese …
Tech Firms, States Spar With US Government Over Net Neutrality
Tech companies and nearly two dozen U.S. states clashed with the government in federal court Friday over the repeal of net neutrality, a set of Obama-era rules aimed at preventing big internet providers from discriminating against certain technology and services. Judges challenged arguments made by both sides in the …
UAE Senior Diplomat Denies Hacking Americans
A United Arab Emirates senior diplomat denied Thursday the country had targeted “friendly countries” or American citizens in a cyberspying program that a Reuters report said involved a hacking team of U.S. mercenaries. The Reuters investigation published Wednesday found that the UAE used a group of American intelligence contractors to …
Facebook Takes Down Vast Iran-Led Manipulation Campaign
Facebook said Thursday it took down hundreds of “inauthentic” accounts from Iran that were part of a vast manipulation campaign operating in more than 20 countries. The world’s biggest social network said it removed 783 pages, groups and accounts “for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior tied to Iran.” The pages …
Apple Busts Facebook for Distributing Data-Sucking App
Apple says Facebook can no longer distribute an app that paid users, including teenagers, to extensively track their phone and web use. In doing so, Apple closed off Facebook’s efforts to sidestep Apple’s app store and its tighter rules on privacy. The tech blog TechCrunch reported late Tuesday that Facebook …
Survey: 2018 ‘Worst Year Ever’ for Smartphone Market
Global smartphone sales saw their worst contraction ever in 2018, and the outlook for 2019 isn’t much better, new surveys show. Worldwide handset volumes declined 4.1 percent in 2018 to a total of 1.4 billion units shipped for the full year, according to research firm IDC, which sees a potential …
A Virtual Human Teaches Negotiating Skills
Whether it’s haggling for a better price or negotiating for a higher salary, there is a skill to getting the most of what you want. Researchers at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies are conducting research on how a virtual negotiator may be able to teach you …