A U.S. judge ruled on Thursday that Twitter could move forward with a lawsuit that aims to free technology companies to speak more openly about surveillance requests they receive from the U.S. government. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, said in a written order that the U.S. …

Microsoft is laying off thousands of employees in a shake-up aimed at selling more subscriptions to software applications that can be used on any internet-connected device. Most of the people losing their jobs work in sales and are located outside the U.S. The Redmond company confirmed that it began sending …

There is a happy ending for a team of Gambian students who planned to compete in a major global robotics contest in Washington later this month. The five-members were granted visas Thursday to come to the United States after being turned down earlier this week. They say they are still …

Without adequate power, even the best smartphone or laptop can quickly become useless.  It’s a simple concept that’s often taken for granted in industrialized nations.  But not in the developing world where basic internet access is a challenge. “You have a very large population of people who are not on …

France will stop selling gasoline and diesel cars by 2040. The move, announced by the country’s ecology minister Nicolas Hulot, is part of a plan to meet emissions targets set forth in the Paris climate accord. “We are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by …

A team of Afghan teenage girls who were denied a visa to participate in a robotics contest in Washington say they will not be deterred and have sent their home-made robot to the contest. While disappointed, the girls are glad their robot will be part of the competition. Bezhan Hamdard …

While the public contemplates how to protect large computer systems, such as banks and voting machines, from hacking, experts warn that another critical part of the data-based world may be vulnerable. Robots are rapidly entering everyday life, and they also rely on a connection to the internet and thus are …

Swedish carmaker Volvo says it is phasing out the internal combustion engine in favor of electric motors by 2019. Volvo, which is Chinese owned, is the first traditional carmaker to announce the move. “This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Volvo’s president Håkan Samuelsson in …

Singapore has a near-perfect approach to cybersecurity, but many other rich countries have holes in their defenses and some poorer countries are showing them how it should be done, a U.N. survey showed on Wednesday. Wealth breeds cybercrime, but it does not automatically generate cybersecurity, so governments need to make …

The Ukrainian software firm at the center of a cyber attack that spread around the world last week said on Wednesday that computers which use its accounting software are compromised by a so-called “backdoor” installed by hackers during the attack. The backdoor has been installed in every computer that wasn’t …

A British hospital trust misused patient data when it shared information with Google for work on a smartphone app to help detect kidney injuries, a British data protection watchdog said Monday. The Royal Free NHS Trust failed to comply with the Data Protection Act when it passed on personal information …

A solar-powered drone backed by Facebook that could one day provide worldwide internet access has quietly completed a test flight in Arizona after an earlier attempt ended with a crash landing. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s long-term plan for the drone, called Aquila, is to have it and others provide internet …

Samsung Electronics said Sunday it will start selling refurbished versions of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone this week in South Korea. The Note 7 was recalled last year because its batteries would overheat and catch fire. The refurbished versions will use different batteries. The new Galaxy Note FE phone, built …

Samsung Electronics said Sunday its recalled Galaxy Note 7 phones will be recycled and sold starting this week in South Korea.    The Galaxy Note FE phone, using unused parts in the recalled Note 7 smartphones, will go on sale in South Korea Friday at 700,000 won ($611), about three …

Ukraine has blamed Russian security services for a massive cyberattack that started in the last week in Ukraine and eventually spread to computers across the world. Ukraine’s security agency, the SBU, said in a statement Saturday the attack bore resemblances to past hacks of Ukrainian infrastructure by the Russian security …

When Goktug Yilmaz, a game developer in Ankara, Turkey, wanted help with his business, he turned to Y Combinator, a prestigious startup accelerator firm in Mountain View, California. Yilmaz recently completed Y Combinator’s first free online course, called Startup School. He was among 7,000 founders from more than 140 countries …

The U.S government warned industrial firms this week about a hacking campaign targeting the nuclear and energy sectors, the latest event to highlight the power industry’s vulnerability to cyberattacks. Since at least May, hackers used tainted “phishing” emails to “harvest credentials” so they could gain access to networks of their …

Many businesses still struggled Friday to recover hopelessly scrambled computer networks, collateral damage from a massive cyberattack that targeted Ukraine three days ago. The Heritage Valley Health System couldn’t offer lab and diagnostic imaging services at 14 community and neighborhood offices in western Pennsylvania. DLA Piper, a London-based law firm …

Biodiesel made from microalgae could power buses and trucks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80 percent, Chilean scientists said, possibly curbing pollution in contaminated cities like Santiago. Experts from the department of Chemical Engineering and Bioprocesses at Chile’s Catholic University said they had grown enough algae …

As technology has become part of our daily life, it’s increasingly been used to intimidate victims of domestic violence. In Australia, an organization is helping victims discover smart devices abusers might be using to invade their privacy and control them from afar. As Faiza Elmasry has the story. VOA’s Faith …

France is known worldwide for its wine, food and culture, but under its new president, the French are aiming to be the new global hub for tech startups. President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to build a version of Silicon Valley in France. His administration has launched pro-business initiatives …

Facebook Inc. said Thursday that it had completed a second test of an unmanned aircraft designed to someday beam internet access to remote parts of the planet, and unlike in the first test, the drone did not crash. Facebook plans to develop a fleet of drones powered by sunlight that …

Malawi and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) launched an air corridor Thursday to test the effectiveness of drones in humanitarian emergencies and other development uses, the first project of its kind in Africa. Landlocked Malawi, which suffers periodic crop failures and is prone to floods, is frequently in need …

Why is Amazon spending nearly $14 billion for Whole Foods ? One reason: People who buy yoga mats and fitness trackers on Amazon might also like grapes, nuts and other healthy items at the organic grocery chain. In short, the deal stands to net Amazon a wealth of data-driven insights …

Instagram is adding a new feature to automatically block any comments that are clearly spam or harassment. The new filters will track comments that are obviously spam or vulgar harassment and block and remove them. Users will still be able to delete or report other comments or turn comments off …