3D printers have been used to create incredible things, from robots to prosthetic arms. Now the U.S. Marines have used the technology to make a 3D-printed concrete footbridge. Khrystyna Shevchenko traveled to Camp Pendleton in California to take a look. Anna Rice narrates her story. …
Creating the World’s Best Battery, an Atom at a Time
Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio are working on the next generation of batteries — a power supply that could theoretically almost never need to be recharged. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
US Sounds Warning as SE Asia Countries Choose Huawei for 5G
Xu Ning from VOA Mandarin and reporter Rob Garver contributed to this report. STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States is acknowledging that many countries are not heeding warnings about the possible security risks in allowing Chinese tech giant Huawei to build the next generation of high-speech wireless networks known as 5G. …
US Colleges Halt Work With Huawei Following Federal Charges
Some of the nation’s top research universities are cutting ties with Chinese tech giant Huawei as the company faces allegations of bank fraud and trade theft. Colleges including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley, have said they will accept no new funding from …
Jeff Bezos’ Ex-Wife Cedes Control of Amazon in Divorce Deal
MacKenzie Bezos, ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, will give 75 percent of their stake in the company and all voting rights to the billionaire entrepreneur. MacKenzie Bezos will also relinquish all her interests in the Washington Post newspaper and rocket company Blue Origin, she …
WhatsApp Business Launches on iPhones
Facebook Inc’s messaging app WhatsApp on Thursday launched its WhatsApp Business app for Apple Inc’s iOS operating system, allowing small businesses to communicate with customers through the platform. WhatsApp Business will be available for free download from the App Store in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, India, Mexico, the U.K. and the …
South Korea Launches 5G Networks Early to Secure World First
South Korea launched the world’s first nationwide 5G mobile networks two days early, its top mobile carriers said Thursday, giving a handful of users access in a late-night scramble to be the first providers of the super-fast wireless technology. Three top telecom providers — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus …
Zuckerberg: Facebook Cannot Guarantee Interference-free EU Eections
Facebook is much better than it was in 2016 at tackling election interference but cannot guarantee the site will not be used to undermine European Parliament elections in May, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday. Chastened since suspected Russian operatives used Facebook and other social media to influence …
Dutch Security Agency Warns Against Chinese, Russian Technology
The Dutch security service advised the government Tuesday not to use technology from countries with active cyber-hacking campaigns against the Netherlands, such as China and Russia. The recommendation came as the Dutch government is weighing options for a new 5G telecommunications network in the coming years and seeks to replace …
Scam Ads Promoting Fake Tax Breaks Prosper on Facebook
Hundreds of ads on Facebook promised U.S. homeowners that they were eligible for huge state tax breaks if they installed new solar-energy panels. There was just one catch: None of it was true. The scam ads used photos of nearly every U.S. governor — and sometimes President Donald Trump …
Facebook, Rights Groups Hit Out at Singapore’s Fake News Bill
Singapore submitted wide-ranging fake news legislation in parliament on Monday, stoking fears from internet firms and human rights groups that it may give the government too much power and hinder freedom of speech. The law would require social media sites like Facebook to carry warnings on posts the government deems …
Your Body: The Network You Didn’t Know You Had
Networks like Bluetooth connect our devices easily and effortlessly. But the area that these portable networks cover is big enough to make them hackable. Now, a group of engineers from Purdue has solved that problem by turning your body into a network. Kevin Enochs explains. …
Facebook Removes Accounts Linked to Indian Political Parties, Pakistan’s Military
Anjana Pasricha contributed to this report. ISLAMABAD – Facebook has removed hundreds of accounts and pages linked to Indian political parties or the Pakistani military for what the company described as “coordinated inauthentic behavior or spam.” The Facebook or Instagram accounts, pages or groups were detected through internal investigations into …
Facebook Reveals How it Ranks Items in The News Feed
Facebook is lifting the lid on the algorithm that decides which posts appear in its news feed, as part of a drive to be more transparent and offer greater control to users. The feature “Why am I seeing this post?”, being rolled out from Monday, offers some insight into the …
TSA’s Social Media Highlight Weird Stuff in Travelers’ Bags
David Johnston stands over a table full of peculiar items confiscated at Dulles International Airport: a glittery clutch with brass knuckles as a clasp. A perfume bottle shaped like a grenade. A rusted circular saw blade. A pocket-sized pitchfork. None of those is quite right. Then Johnston sees it: a …
US, China Face Off Over 5G in Cambodia
For techies and phone geeks, Digital Cambodia 2019 was the place to be. More than a dozen high school students clustered at the booth for Cellcard, Cambodia’s leading mobile operator. Under the booth’s 5G sign, they played video games on their phones. Hak Kimheng, a ninth grade student in Phnom …
US Uses Obscure Agency to Target Chinese Foreign Investments
For decades, it was virtually unknown outside a small circle of investors, corporate lawyers and government officials. But in recent years, the small interagency body known as the Committee for Investment in the United States has grown in prominence, propelled by a U.S. desire to use it as an …
Facebook Beefs Up Political Ad Rules Ahead of EU Election
Facebook said Friday it is further tightening requirements for European Union political advertising, in its latest efforts to prevent foreign interference and increase transparency ahead of the bloc’s parliamentary elections. However, some EU politicians criticized the social media giant, saying the measures will make pan-European online campaigning harder. Under the …
Students Mix Tech, Fashion Wearables for the Disabled
Most of us don’t give much thought to getting dressed every day, but for the elderly and disabled, seemingly simple tasks – like buttoning a shirt – can prove complicated. Fashion design students recently looked at low-tech ways to make clothes smarter. Tina Trinh reports. …
Graphene Begins to Realize its Potential
At one atom thick, graphene is one of those miracle materials that many say is the stuff of the future. The future may be now as graphene’s potential is being realized as the key to quick efficient 5G networks, and the future of telecommunications. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
US Housing Department Charges Facebook With Housing Discrimination
Facebook was charged with discrimination by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because of its ad-targeting system. HUD said Thursday Facebook is allowing advertisers to exclude people based on their neighborhood by drawing a red line around those neighborhoods on a map and giving advertisers the option of …
British Report Finds Technical Risks in Huawei Network Gear
British cybersecurity inspectors have found significant technical issues in Chinese telecom supplier Huawei’s software that they say pose risks for the country’s telecom companies. The annual report Thursday said there is only “limited assurance” that long-term national security risks from Huawei’s involvement in critical British telecom networks can be …
Students Mix Tech, Fashion Wearables for Disabled
Most of us don’t give much thought to getting dressed every day, but for the elderly and disabled, seemingly simple tasks like buttoning a shirt can prove complicated. Fashion design students recently looked at low-tech ways to make clothes smarter. VOA’s Tina Trinh reports. …
Facebook, Instagram Ban White Nationalist Speech
Facebook has announced it is banning praise, support, and representation of white nationalism and separatism on its platform and on Instagram, which it also owns. The company made the announcement Wednesday in a blog post, saying, “It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have …