Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has been named Uber’s top executive, taking the difficult job of mending the dysfunctional ride-hailing giant and turning it from money-losing behemoth to a profitable company. Uber’s fractured eight-member board voted to hire Khosrowshahi late Sunday, capping three days of meetings and the withdrawal of …
your ad hereCan Computers Enhance Work of Teachers? Debate Is On
In middle school, Junior Alvarado often struggled with multiplication and earned poor grades in math, so when he started his freshman year at Washington Leadership Academy, a charter high school in the nation’s capital, he fretted that he would lag behind. But his teachers used technology to identify his weak …
your ad hereVehicles Powered By Solar, Electric Moving Into the Market
Ever so slowly, the world is edging towards the demise of the gasoline-powered engine. It likely won’t come for decades, but it’s coming. Two new entries in the alternative powered vehicle department are showing off ways that technology is slowly changing the automobile marketplace. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports …
your ad hereMore Dependence on Internet Leads to More Cyberattacks Worldwide
Reports of cyberattacks against companies and governments around the world seem to be appearing in the headlines more frequently this year. Cyber security experts explain why the risk of being hacked is now greater, who is doing the hacking and what can be done to prevent or minimize the damage. …
your ad hereIran Media Report Apple Shuts Down Iranian Apps
Iranian media are reporting that Apple Inc. has removed all Iranian mobile apps from its App Store. In reaction to Apple’s decision, Telecommunication Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said Apple should respect its Iranian consumers. He also sent out this tweet: Apple, based in Cupertino, California, did not immediately …
your ad hereFacebook Lambasted Over Video of Traffickers Abusing Migrants
People smugglers are using Facebook to broadcast the abuse and torture of migrants in order to extort ransom money from their families, the U.N. migration agency said on Friday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) lambasted the tech giant for failing to police the platform and help crack down on …
your ad hereTesla’s ‘Long-haul’ Electric Truck Aims for 200 to 300 Miles on a Charge
Tesla next month plans to unveil an electric big-rig truck with a working range of 200 to 300 miles, Reuters has learned, a sign that the electric car maker is targeting regional hauling for its entry into the commercial freight market. Chief Executive Elon Musk has promised to release a …
your ad hereHigh-tech Yarn Shows Promise as Energy Generator
A new, high-tech yarn that generates electricity when stretched or twisted could use ocean waves and human motion to lower man’s dependency on fossil fuels, researchers said Thursday. An international team of scientists said in a study they had developed a stretchy yarn made of carbon nanotubes — tiny strands …
your ad hereUS Space Company Makes History with Client from China
In recent years, the U.S. space program has been supporting a broader range of commercial interests, which has led to more companies getting into the space business. One such U.S. company, NanoRacks, is a full-service operation that gets science experiments from around the world into space. The company made history …
your ad hereBritain Seeks Close EU Relationship on Data Protection After Brexit
Britain will set out a plan to cooperate closely with Europe on data protection rules after it leaves the European Union, hoping to reassure businesses and law enforcement agencies that there will be no disruption to exchanges of information. Minister for Digital Matt Hancock said Britain was leading the way …
your ad hereLab-made ‘Mini Organs’ Helping Doctors Treat Cystic Fibrosis
Els van der Heijden, who has cystic fibrosis, was finding it ever harder to breathe as her lungs filled with thick, sticky mucus. Despite taking more than a dozen pills and inhalers a day, the 53-year-old had to stop working and scale back doing the thing she loved best, horseback …
your ad hereUS Defense Department Invests $17M in Laser Technology
The U.S. Defense Department is making another multimillion-dollar investment in high-energy lasers that have the potential to destroy enemy drones and mortars, disrupt communication systems and provide military forces with other portable, less costly options on the battlefield. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat who sits on the …
your ad hereGermany Draws Up Rules of the Road for Driverless Cars
Protecting people rather than property or animals will be the priority under pioneering new German legal guidelines for the operation of driverless cars, the transport ministry said on Wednesday. Germany is home to some of the world’s largest car companies, including Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, all of which are investing …
your ad hereSamsung Seeks to Bury Fiery Past with Galaxy Note 8 Launch
Samsung Electronics set out to wipe the slate clean in New York on Wednesday with a new Galaxy Note 8 phablet, hoping features such as dual rear cameras and its biggest-ever screen will extinguish memories of its fire-prone predecessor. The world’s largest smartphone maker by market share has put safety …
your ad hereWalmart Teams Up With Google for Voice-activated Shopping
Walmart is diving into voice-activated shopping. But unlike online leader Amazon, it’s not doing it alone. The world’s largest retailer said Wednesday it’s working with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items from laundry detergent to Legos for voice shopping through Google Assistant. The capability will be available in …
your ad hereValerie Plame Wilson Wants to Buy Twitter to Kick Trump Off
Former undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson is looking to crowdfund enough money to buy Twitter so President Donald Trump can’t use it. Wilson launched the fundraiser last week, tweeting: “If @Twitter executives won’t shut down Trump’s violence and hate, then it’s up to us. #BuyTwitter #BanTrump.” The GoFundMe page …
your ad hereDutch Researchers Develop Blazing-fast Wi-Fi Using Light Rays
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 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 hereNew App Helps Relieve Stress Through Guided Meditation Exercise
A common complaint for busy, stressed out people is not being able to find the time and place to unwind. A new smartphone application promises to solve these problems by helping users practice an old Chinese form of healing meditation while on the go. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke has more. …
your ad hereMoon Begins Blotting Out the Sun in Historic US Eclipse
Americans gazed in wonder through telescopes, cameras and protective glasses Monday as the moon began blotting out the midday sun in the first full-blown solar eclipse to sweep the U.S. from coast to coast in nearly a century. “The show has just begun, people! What a gorgeous day! Isn’t this …
your ad hereBritain to Treat Internet Hate Crime as Seriously as Offline Offenses
Online abuse will be treated as seriously as offline offences, Britain’s prosecution service said on Monday in new guidance on handling hate crimes. The rules – which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims – were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose …
your ad hereKenyan Girls Use Technology to Combat Genital Cutting
“It’s still fresh in my mind, the scene of female genital mutilation,” said Purity Achieng, a 17-year-old from Kenya. Achieng was speaking on stage in the finals of the Technovation Challenge World Pitch Summit, a competition that invites girls from around the world to come up with tech solutions …
your ad hereKenyan Girls Use Technology to Combat Female Genital Mutilation
At least 200 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation in 30 countries. And according to UNICEF, 44 million are girls 14 years old and younger. One group of Kenyan teens is standing up to this archaic so called “right of passage” and offering would be victims a …
your ad hereFor Moms Heading Back to Work, ‘Returnships’ Offer a Path Forward
How does a former stay-at-home mom become an employee of a tech company that could be worth more than $1 billion? For Ellein Cheng, mom to a 5½- and a 2½-year-old, the answer involved a “returnship.” So-called returnships are internships that target men and women who have been out of …
your ad hereFor Moms Heading Back to Work, ‘Returnships’ Offer a Path Forward
The lack of women and diversity in the tech industry remains a headline issue, but so-called “returnship” programs are giving companies the chance to tap into a new talent pool — former stay-at-home moms and dads. How do their skills translate in the tech world? VOA’s Tina Trinh explains. …
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