A global cyberattack on Friday renewed concerns about whether the U.S. National Security Agency and other countries’ intelligence services too often horde software vulnerabilities for offensive purposes, rather than quickly alerting technology companies to such flaws. Hacking tools believed to belong to the NSA that were leaked online last month …

A handful of New Yorkers have gathered at New York University to practice conversing in Arabic. Their two conversation partners have joined via Skype, video images projected side-by-side on a TV monitor. The scene would be nothing out of the ordinary, save for the fact that the conversation partners, Ghayath …

A Dutch entrepreneur has come up with an invention he says will allow him to start cleaning up a massive floating garbage patch in the Pacific two years ahead of schedule. “To catch the plastic, act like plastic,” Boyan Slat said Thursday in Utrecht. Slat’s Ocean Cleanup foundation plans to …

Television journalist Julia Kirienko was sheltering with Ukrainian soldiers and medics two miles (three kilometers) from the front when their cellphones began buzzing over the noise of the shelling. Everyone got the same text message at the same time. “Ukrainian soldiers,” it warned, “they’ll find your bodies when the snow …

In just a few years, well-mannered self-driving robotaxis will share the roads with reckless, law-breaking human drivers. The prospect is causing migraines for the people developing the robotaxis. A self-driving car would be programmed to drive at the speed limit. Humans routinely exceed it by 10 to 15 mph (16 …

China is testing the ability for future astronauts to stay on the moon for extended periods, as Beijing accelerates its space program and looks to put people on the surface of the moon within the next two decades. The official Xinhua news agency said volunteers would live in a “simulated …

Electric carmaker Tesla has added another product to its lineup: Solar roof tiles. As of Wednesday, customers worldwide could order a solar roof on Tesla’s website. Installations will begin next month in the U.S., starting with California. Installations outside the U.S. will begin next year, the company said. The glass …

Earlier this year, engineers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. who track rivals’ prices online got a rude surprise: the technology they were using to check Amazon.com several million times a day suddenly stopped working. Losing access to Amazon.com Inc.’s data was no small matter. Like most big retailers, Wal-Mart relies on …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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. …

The website for the Federal Communications Commission has come under attack. Initially, the problems were believed to have been caused by comedian John Oliver, who on Sunday urged his viewers to leave comments on the site about the FCC’s plans to revisit net neutrality rules. Net neutrality rules were implemented …

Exploration of Mars has not proceeded without setbacks, but that did not discourage scientists trying to find the answer to one of the crucial questions – has the red planet ever sustained life? If the answer is positive, it would mean that we are not alone in the universe. Scientists …

Facebook must remove postings deemed as hate speech, an Austrian court has ruled, in a legal victory for campaigners who want to force social media companies to combat online “trolling.” The case — brought by Austria’s Green party over insults to its leader — has international ramifications as the court …

Facebook says it has deleted tens of thousands of accounts in Britain ahead of the June 8 general election in a drive to battle fake news.   The tech giant also took out newspaper advertisements in Britain’s media offering advice on how to spot such stories. The ads suggest that …

China will further tighten its internet regulations with a pledge Sunday to strengthen controls over search engines and online news portals, the latest step in President Xi Jinping’s push to maintain strict Communist Party control over content. Xi has made China’s “cyber sovereignty” a top priority in his sweeping campaign …

3D printing with metals is rapidly changing the way parts are being manufactured because it is now possible to create continuous complex shapes. Where once parts had to be welded to close the gaps, they can now be made as one solid piece. NASA’s scientists say they can now print …

The venture fund 500 Startups has been making a splash in Southeast Asia, most recently with Khmerload, a Cambodian entertainment news website modeled after the American media giant Buzzfeed. Binh Tran, a venture partner with the firm, sat down with Sophat Soeung of VOA’s Khmer service to talk about how …

Some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential leaders came to California this week for the Milken Institute Global Conference, a wide-ranging review of issues permeating economics and politics, with topics ranging from agriculture to mortgage markets to international trade and alliances, plus a long look at what the future …

Fusion is the holy grail of energy production. And plenty of investors around the world are betting on it as the emission-free, waste-free energy of the future. There’s no real proof we’re there yet, but we’re close. And one company in England says it will be able to start putting …

Facebook’s growth into a digital advertising power is showing a flip side: The social network is more dependent than ever on the cyclical ad market, even as its rival Google finds new revenue streams in hardware and software. Facebook reported on Wednesday that 98 percent of its quarterly revenue came …

Family members of San Bernardino terror attack victims sued Facebook, Google and Twitter, accusing the companies of providing platforms that help the Islamic State group spread propaganda, recruit followers and raise money. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles alleges that the companies aided and abetted terrorism, …