Ministers and officials representing the 12 countries of the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership, plus China and South Korea, began talks in Chile on Tuesday, but any concrete decision on how a new trade pact might look seemed far off. The TPP, which would have included about 40 percent of the world’s …
your ad hereBrazil Foreign Minister Sees EU-Mercosur Trade Accord This Year
South American trade bloc Mercosur expects to sign a framework accord this year for a trade deal with the European Union as the U.S. shift to isolationism under President Donald Trump encourages it to look outside the hemisphere for opportunities, Brazil’s top diplomat said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes …
your ad hereWhy Bangalore Doesn’t Need Silicon Valley
Visitors to Bangalore, India, these days can see street art, have beer at local microbreweries or take an Uber ride to a distant neighborhood to meet with venture capitalists about a recent startup that grabbed their attention. Gone are the days of a city dominated by call centers and American …
your ad herePeru Startup Founders Discuss Business Challenges in Developing Countries
Mariana Costa Checa, a Peruvian entrepreneur, runs a coding boot camp for women in Peru, many of whom have no formal education. She attended the South by Southwest conference and festivals in Austin, Texas, as part of a Peruvian contingent showing its work and sharing the challenges of starting an …
your ad hereBurundi Says Malaria Reaches Epidemic Proportions
Health experts say more than 700 people have died of malaria so far this year in Burundi, prompting the government to declare the disease an epidemic. The determination was based on findings of a survey by Burundian and World Health Organization experts, said Josiane Nijimbere, Burundi’s Minister of Health. …
your ad hereChina’s Statistics Bureau: Economic Activity, Business Environment Improved
Activity in China’s real economy has improved with the business environment much better than at the same time last year, the statistics bureau says. “Based on key indicators from January and February this year, we feel that the vitality of the real economy has been boosted, [and] its results have …
your ad hereAfrican Governments Learn to Block the Internet, but at Cost
The mysterious Facebook blogger kept dishing up alleged government secrets. One day it was a shadowy faction looting cash from Uganda’s presidential palace with impunity. The next was a claim that the president was suffering from a debilitating illness. For authorities in a country that has seen just one president …
your ad hereCBO’s Independent Views Can Rankle Lawmakers
The Congressional Budget Office is a scorekeeper suddenly in the spotlight. Monday’s estimate of the House GOP’s health care measure gave ammunition to Democratic critics of the law, predicting that 14 million people would lose insurance next year. Republicans had been bracing for the report, with some of them attacking …
your ad hereFacebook Bars Developers from Using Data for Surveillance
Facebook barred software developers on Monday from using the massive social network’s data to create surveillance tools, closing off a process that had been exploited by U.S. police departments to track protesters. Facebook, its Instagram unit and rival Twitter came under fire last year from privacy advocates after the American …
your ad hereFBI Official to Tech Word: Try to Understand Us
So what was the FBI doing at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas, primarily known for music, movies and interactive media? James Baker, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s general counsel, took the stage at a hotel in Austin, Texas, on Monday to present a human face …
your ad hereQuality Physical Therapy Just a Mouse Click Away
Victims of stroke often face years of grueling, physical therapy, if they can even find a qualified therapist. Now a Portuguese inventor has created a computer program that delivers high quality, monitored therapy, and it’s just a mouse click away. Faith Lapidus narrates this report from Kevin Enochs. …
your ad hereStartup Founders in Peru Tackle Misconceptions of Poverty
While Peru is best known for the ancient Inca city, Machu Picchu, for certain aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s also home to innovative, social enterprises. But doing good isn’t always enough when it comes to launching a startup in developing nations like Peru. VOA reporter Tina Trinh met with entrepreneurs who say …
your ad here‘Beauty and the Beast’ Shelved in Malaysia Despite Approval
Walt Disney has shelved the release of its new movie “Beauty and the Beast” in mainly Muslim Malaysia, even though film censors said Tuesday it had been approved with a minor cut involving a “gay moment.” The country’s two main cinema chains said the movie, due for to begin screening …
your ad hereRussia’s Sberbank Expresses Concern About Protests Against Ukraine Subsidiary
Russian lender Sberbank said Monday it was deeply concerned by protests against its Ukrainian subsidiary, which included a nationalist group walling up the entrance to one of its branches in Kyiv with masonry and cement. Periodic protests have been held against Kremlin-owned banks operating in Ukraine since bilateral ties broke …
your ad hereMadrid to Ban Old Cars by 2025 in Crackdown on Air Pollution
Madrid’s city government announced plans on Monday to ban the oldest and most polluting vehicles from the city center by 2025 in a bid to crackdown on air pollution. The local government will prohibit the use within the city’s limits of gasoline cars registered before 2000 and diesel-powered cars registered …
your ad hereOpposing Groups in California Team Up Against Trump
Before Donald Trump’s election, Laurence Berland viewed political protest as a sort of curiosity. He was in a good place to see it: San Francisco’s Mission District, once an immigrant enclave in the country’s heartland of radicalism that is increasingly populated by people like him — successful tech workers driving …
your ad hereTrump Budget Plan Set to Spark Another Battle with Congress
U.S. President Donald Trump this week will unveil a budget expected to massively increase military spending while slashing other federal programs. The proposal, set to be released Thursday, will offer the most detailed look yet at how Trump intends to move ahead with his so-called “America First” policy. The budget …
your ad here‘Boaty McBoatface’ to Embark on First Mission
It’s not every day that an unmanned scientific submarine makes international headlines, but this sub is named Boaty McBoatface, and it is about to embark on its first mission. The sub is operated by Britain’s National Environmental Research Council, which last year turned to the internet to name the group’s …
your ad hereConverting Heat Into Electricity
Humankind wastes a lot of energy, but thanks to new technologies, it is increasingly affordable to harvest and use it. At a recent energy summit in Washington, one of the participating commercial firms exhibited photovoltaic cells that turn waste heat into electricity. VOA’s George Putic reports. …
your ad hereEd Sheeran to Guest Star on ‘Game of Thrones’
Ed Sheeran will guest star in the upcoming season of “Game of Thrones.” The show’s producers made the announcement Sunday night during a panel discussion at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Texas. Producer David Benioff told the audience that they’ve been trying to get the 26-year-old British …
your ad hereIntel to Buy Israeli Technology Firm Mobileye for $15B
U.S. chipmaker Intel agreed to buy driverless technology firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion on Monday, positioning itself for a dominant role in the autonomous-driving sector after missing the market for mobile phones. The $63.54 per share cash deal is the biggest technology takeover in Israel’s history and the largest purchase …
your ad hereKim Kardashian West Opens Up About Paris Robbery
Kim Kardashian West is opening up about being held at gunpoint during a jewelry heist in Paris last year. In a preview of next week’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” Kardashian West recalls seeing the gun “as clear as day.” Kardashian West emotionally describes the episode to her sisters …
your ad hereImmigration Tensions Seep into South by Southwest Music Fest
The trendsetting South by Southwest music festival is all about the next big thing, but the heated politics of the moment is stealing the show. Tensions over immigration have put a heavy air over the typically breezy weeklong music bash that begins Monday and includes headliners The Avett Brothers, Weezer …
your ad hereVietnam to Test Trump on Signing Solo Trade Pacts
Vietnam will test U.S. President Donald Trump’s openness to one-on-one trade deals as it starts nudging Washington for an eventual agreement to replace its role in the defunct Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Official media outlets in Vietnam say Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told an American business delegation last week …
your ad hereDevotees Rejoice Over Hindu Festival of Colors
Hundred of devotees in northern India’s holy city of Mathura rejoiced over the Hindu festival of colors, ‘Holi’, on Sunday, as they gathered in large numbers at the mythical birth place of Lord Krishna. Though ‘Holi’ is a single-day affair elsewhere in India, it is almost a 10-day festival across …
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