Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday turned up the heat on other technology giants by launching new image and video recognition products which could help it court businesses worried about running ads next to offensive content. The Redmond, Washington-based company said its new Video Indexer can identify faces, voices and emotions in …
your ad hereFacebook to Play Down Links to Websites With Deceptive Ads
Facebook is planning to intensify its crackdown on so-called clickbait websites, saying it will begin giving lower prominence to links that lead to pages full of deceptive or annoying advertisements. The downgrade of the links was expected to take effect beginning on Wednesday on News Feed, the home page of …
your ad hereCannes: 2017 Is First and Last for Netflix Unless It Changes
Netflix, the U.S. video-on-demand company, will not be allowed to compete at the Cannes Film Festival after this year unless it changes its policy and gives its movies a cinema release, organizers said Wednesday. The 2017 festival, which begins next week, has Netflix films in its competition for the first …
your ad hereMeasles Hit Minnesota Somalis Amid Low Vaccination Rates
Any outbreak of measles is cause for concern, but the current outbreak in Minneapolis, Minnesota stands out for two reasons. One, almost none of the victims were vaccinated against the disease. Two, nearly all of the victims are ethnic Somalis. Doctors say the situation is the result of the disproven, …
your ad hereTaiwan Rejection From WHO Assembly Further Strains Relations With China
Taiwan’s already precarious relations with old rival China took another step back this week after the self-ruled island said Beijing blocked it from the annual World Health Organization assembly, a move that may prompt Taipei to rethink how they treat the other side. Officials in Taipei said Tuesday the deadline …
your ad hereFor Expatriate Shutterbug, Even Federal Washington Offers Unique Angles
Modern history. Political change. Urbanization, emotion, and the colors of Washington, DC. For Ukrainian-born photographer Val Proudkii, it’s all filtered through the lens of his camera. In his repertoire: numerous photography competition awards and one printed image signed by former president Barack Obama. After spending a day looking at the …
your ad hereUS Under Increased Pressure to Remain Committed to Climate Change Efforts
Pressure is mounting on the U.S. administration to remain committed to the Paris agreement on climate change. European Union leaders, a former United Nations chief and former U.S. President Barack Obama have joined the chorus of voices emphasizing the need for action to reduce greenhouse emissions worldwide. On Tuesday, the …
your ad hereTherapists Use VR to Treat Balance Problems
New York University researchers have developed a system combining virtual reality with a pressure sensing mat they say could help people with vestibular dysfunction, which affects parts of the inner ear and brain and results in problems with balance, or those suffering from vertigo or dizziness as a result of …
your ad hereFor One Chinese City, New ‘Silk Road’ Leaves Old Problems Unsolved
In August, 2014, planners in the northeastern Chinese city of Hunchun argued in state media that it should be included in the “One Belt, One Road” project, Beijing’s vision laid out the previous year of a new Silk Road across Asia to Europe. In 2015, the official Xinhua news agency …
your ad hereMexico Targets Suppliers, Buyers in Move Against Fuel Theft
Mexico is embarking on a strategy to combat illegal pipeline thefts that includes going after those who purchase and deal in stolen fuel as well as the thieves, the country’s treasury secretary said Tuesday. Jose Antonio Meade said it’s a problem that costs Mexico somewhere between 15 billion and …
your ad hereStates Sue Over Trump Decision to Restart Coal Lease Program
Four U.S. states filed a lawsuit Tuesday over President Donald Trump’s decision to restart the sale of coal leases on federal lands, saying the Obama-era block of the leasing program was reversed without studying what’s best for the environment and for taxpayers. The attorneys general of California, New Mexico, New …
your ad hereLos Angeles Ready to Shine for IOC Evaluation Visit
It will be lights, camera, action with the Los Angeles 2024 Olympic bid in the spotlight when the International Olympic Committee visits Tinseltown this week as the race to host the Summer Games heats up. The IOC’s Evaluation Commission will hear a well-worn sales pitch during a three-day visit that …
your ad hereRomanian Museum Celebrates Creativity of Kitsch
Visitors to Romania who yearn for a taste of communist-era kitsch now have an entire museum to enjoy. From the mundane (wedding champagne flutes covered in sequins and bows) to the spectacular (a life-sized Dracula and flashing neon crucifixes), Bucharest’s Kitsch Museum celebrates questionable taste of the past and present. …
your ad hereUS Commerce’s Ross: 3 Percent GDP Growth Not Achievable This Year
The U.S. economy won’t achieve the Trump administration’s 3 percent growth goal this year and not until all of its tax, regulatory, trade and energy policies are fully in place, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday. Ross also said trade enforcement actions would be a major tool to cut …
your ad hereLatin Singer Prince Royce Gears Up for Summer Tour
Latin pop star Prince Royce will tour 21 U.S. cities this summer to showcase his new music, which he says has a bit of a new twist. Known for his Dominican bachata hits, Royce released his fifth studio album, “FIVE,” in February, collaborating with musicians Chris Brown, Zendaya and Shakira. …
your ad hereIn Drought-hit Kenya, Selling Water Keeps City’s Young People in Business and Off Drugs
Now onto his third job since finishing high school a decade ago, Festus Chege is hoping his latest venture as a water vendor in Githurai, a growing suburb to the south of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, will pay off. Like many young people from poor families, the 30-year-old passed his high-school …
your ad hereAeroVironment Unveils Palm-sized Surveillance Drone for US Military
Drone-maker AeroVironment Inc. unveiled a small four-rotor surveillance helicopter on Tuesday that can be carried in a small pouch and launched from the palm of a hand. The smaller size and simplicity of operation means it can used by ordinary soldiers, offering squads and other small military units the kind …
your ad hereStirring Portraits of Communist Albania’s Women Recall Different Reality
Three women stare down from the gallery wall — colorful, defiant and imbued with a spirit of working for the many not the few. They are a brigadier, a factory worker and a youth volunteer with a hoe. They are paintings of socialist realism. They are also all Albanian women …
your ad hereUS Treasury Upgrades Website to Better Track Federal Spending Data
The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday launched an upgrade of a website to allow for the first time the tracking of all federal government spending categories, which totaled $3.85 trillion last year. The new Beta.USAspending.gov website culminates a three-year initiative to improve the existing USAspending.gov to provide a broader view of …
your ad hereWish You Were Here? Museum Puts Pink Floyd on Display
The Victoria & Albert Museum’s new exhibition is a psychedelic time capsule of a show devoted to the band Pink Floyd, complete with floating pigs, surreal animations and trippy projections. But it’s not the visuals, or the group’s experimental and sometimes indulgent music, that marks this out as an ode to …
your ad hereAs Droughts Worsen, Phones and Radios Lead Way to Water for Niger’s Herders
When Moumouni Abdoulaye and his fellow herders in western Niger used to set off on scouting missions in search of water, they feared for their livestock – and for their own lives. Unable to rely anymore on their traditional methods of predicting the weather amid increasingly erratic droughts and floods, …
your ad hereUS Medical Body Recommends Against Screening for Thyroid Cancer
Screening for thyroid cancer is no longer recommended for adults with no symptoms, a U.S. health task force says. In a news release, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force said physicians should not screen for the disease in adults who have “no signs or symptoms.” Thyroid cancer, which grows on …
your ad hereIndia’s IndiGo to Fly to Smaller Cities in Strategy Shift
Indian airline IndiGo said it plans to start flying smaller planes to second-tier towns and cities later this year, in a shift in strategy for the carrier that has prided itself on the simplicity of running only one type of jet. IndiGo, which has a fleet of 131 Airbus A320 …
your ad hereChina’s President Xi Says to Uphold Global Climate Deal
Chinese President Xi Jinping told French President-elect Emmanuel Macron in a phone call on Tuesday that he would uphold the Paris Agreement on curbing climate change. China, the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, and France should “protect the global governance achievements contained within the Paris Agreement on climate change”, …
your ad hereAmazon Gives Voice-enabled Speaker a Screen, Video Calling
Amazon is giving its voice-enabled Echo speaker a touch screen and video-calling capabilities as it competes with Google’s efforts at bringing “smarts” to the home. The new device, called Echo Show, goes on sale on June 28 for $230. The market for voice-assisted speakers is small but growing. …
your ad here