Starbucks coffee shops recently installed the fastest Wi-Fi we regular folks can enjoy. It’s a blazing 9 megabits per second. But researchers in the Netherlands have some Wi-Fi that leaves that in the dust. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
your ad hereTrans-Alaska Pipeline Celebrates 40 Years
Oil is the main revenue source in Alaska. This year, the trans-Alaska pipeline celebrated 40 years of service. From Alaska, VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at the history of North America’s largest oil field. …
your ad hereWith Tax Talk Heating Up, Republicans Modify Plan for Businesses
Congressional Republicans, seeking to address the complaints of small businesses, are floating changes to their controversial proposal to eliminate business tax deductions for debt interest payments, business lobbyists said Tuesday. A top U.S. Republican on tax policy acknowledged that modifications are in the works but did not provide details. The …
your ad hereFlorida Lab Sets New Magnet Strength Record
Engineers at a lab in Florida have been working quietly for 2½ years on building one of the most powerful magnets in the world. And on Monday, they succeeded. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory — whose main location is housed at Florida State University — met its goal and …
your ad hereChieftain: Indigenous People Seize Some Facilities on Peru Oil Field
Indigenous people living on Peru’s largest oil field concession have seized some facilities operated by Frontera Energy demanding that the government apply an indigenous rights law before signing a new contract with the Canadian company, a tribal chieftain said on Tuesday. The so-called prior consultation law, passed in 2011, requires …
your ad hereArctic Researchers to Study Wind Effects on Marine Life
A federal research vessel will launch on a cruise this week to study how Beaufort Sea wind affects plant and animal life in a changing Arctic Ocean. The Sikuliaq, owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will depart Friday from Nome for the …
your ad hereResearchers: Robot Makers Slow to Address Danger Risk
Researchers who warned half a dozen robot manufacturers in January about nearly 50 vulnerabilities in their home, business and industrial robots, say only a few of the problems have been addressed. The researchers, Cesar Cerrudo and Lucas Apa of cybersecurity firm IOActive, said the vulnerabilities would allow hackers to spy …
your ad hereJordan Opens First Job Center in Syrian Refugee Camp
Jordan has opened its first job center inside a refugee camp, unlocking work opportunities across the country for thousands living in the world’s largest Syrian refugee camp, the U.N. labor agency said Tuesday. So far, more than 800 refugees in the Zaatari camp in Jordan, which borders Syria and is …
your ad hereVillage Voice to End Print Edition
The Village Voice, the alternative weekly newspaper co-founded by Norman Mailer and known for its culture coverage and investigative reporting, said Tuesday that it would end its print version and continue as an online-only publication. Peter Barbey, who purchased the newspaper from Voice Media Group in 2015, said in a …
your ad hereArgentina Labor Unions Protest Job Losses, Macri Policies
Argentina’s main labor unions took to the streets of the capital on Tuesday demanding more jobs and protesting center-right President Mauricio Macri’s economic policies. Tens of thousands of workers gathered in the historic Plaza de Mayo criticizing Macri, who is trying to lower labor costs to attract investment and jump-start …
your ad hereIndia’s Farmers Revive Traditional Grains in Face of Severe Drought
For Nel Jayaraman, the realization that hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides were making farmers more vulnerable to extreme weather came slowly. In fields near the town of Thiruthuraipoondi in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Jayaraman saw yields falling and farmers’ debt rising as their reliance on modern seeds …
your ad hereEx-Petrobras CEO Bendine Charged with Corruption in Brazil
Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday charged Aldemir Bendine, the former chief executive of state-controlled oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, with corruption, alleging he used his position to take bribes from construction firm Odebrecht. Bendine served as CEO of Petrobras, as the company is formally known, between 2015 and 2016, and was …
your ad hereVanishing Kelp: Warm Ocean Takes Toll on Undersea Forests
When diving in the Gulf of Maine a few years back, Jennifer Dijkstra expected to be swimming through a flowing kelp forest that had long served as a nursery and food for juvenile fish and lobster. But Dijkstra, a University of New Hampshire marine biologist, saw only a patchy seafloor …
your ad hereMorgan Freeman to Get Screen Actors Lifetime Award
Morgan Freeman, the versatile actor known for playing gods, presidents and pimps, will be honored with the 2017 lifetime achievement award by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) at its annual ceremony in January. Freeman, 80, whose prolific career spans 50 years and more than 100 movies, will join the likes …
your ad hereWhite House Halts Study of Mountaintop Coal Mining’s Health Effects
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered a halt to research on the potential health hazards of people who live near mountaintop coal mining operations. The U.S. Interior Department ordered the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to end a study of surface coal mining sites in the Appalachian …
your ad hereMark Wahlberg Tops Forbes List of Highest-paid Actors
“Transformers: The Last Knight” star Mark Wahlberg has outmuscled Dwayne Johnson to become Hollywood’s highest-paid actor in the past year with a transforming income of $68 million, according to Forbes magazine. The former rapper known as Marky Mark beat out “Baywatch” star Johnson, with $65 million, and Johnson’s “The Fate …
your ad hereGeorge, Amal Clooney Donate $1M to Fight Hate Groups
George and Amal Clooney are donating $1 million to fight hate groups. The couple announced Tuesday that their Clooney Foundation for Justice is supporting the Southern Poverty Law Center with a $1 million grant to combat hate groups in the United States. George Clooney says in a statement …
your ad hereHerder-Farmer Tensions in Rural Kenya Ease, But Problems Remain
Violence surged in rural central Kenya earlier this year as armed northern herders brought thousands of cattle, sheep and goats onto private property, prompting clashes that took the lives of humans and wildlife. As drought raged on, it did not help that some politicians encouraged constituents to graze their …
your ad hereCosby Back in Court With New Legal Team for Sex Assault Trial
Bill Cosby was due back in court on Tuesday to seek a judge’s approval to have a lawyer who successfully defended the late singer Michael Jackson against child molestation charges represent the comedian at his sex assault retrial. Cosby’s first Pennsylvania trial on charges that he sexually assaulted a former …
your ad hereMcDonald’s to Close 169 Outlets in India in Franchise Battle
McDonald’s India has announced it will close 169 McDonald’s outlets in northern and eastern India after the American fast food giant decided to terminate a franchise agreement with its Indian partner. McDonald’s said its partner Connaught Plaza Restaurants violated the terms of the franchise agreement, including reneging on payment of …
your ad hereHyundai Will Launch Pickup, More SUVs to Reverse US Sales Slide
Hyundai Motor plans to launch a pickup truck in the United States as part of a broader plan to catch up with a shift away from sedans in one of the Korean automaker’s most important markets, a senior company executive told Reuters. Michael J. O’Brien, vice president of corporate and …
your ad hereTrump Rebuffs Coal Industry; CEO Claims Promise Broken
The Trump administration has rejected a coal industry push to win a rarely used emergency order protecting coal-fired power plants, a decision contrary to what one coal executive said the president personally promised him. The Energy Department says it considered issuing the order sought by companies seeking relief for plants …
your ad hereFord, Chinese Partner Look at Possible Electric Car Venture
Ford Motor Co. and a Chinese automaker said Tuesday they are looking into setting up a joint venture to develop and manufacture electric cars in China. Ford’s potential venture with Anhui Zotye Automobile Co. adds to the global auto industry’s rising activity in electric vehicles for China, which passed …
your ad hereJapan Mulls Release of Fukushima Tritium-Contaminated Water Into Ocean
Authorities in Japan are trying to decide what to do with the hundreds of thousands of metric tons of contaminated water being stored at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which went into meltdown following a 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It is estimated the huge water storage tanks surrounding the …
your ad hereJapan Considers Release of Fukushima Tritium-Contaminated Water into Pacific
Authorities in Japan are trying to decide what to do with the hundreds of thousands of metric tons of contaminated water being stored at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which went into meltdown following a 2011 earthquake and tsunami. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Tokyo, plant operator TEPCO says …
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