The mysterious Facebook blogger kept dishing up alleged government secrets. One day it was a shadowy faction looting cash from Uganda’s presidential palace with impunity. The next was a claim that the president was suffering from a debilitating illness. For authorities in a country that has seen just one president since 1986, the critic who… more
Facebook barred software developers on Monday from using the massive social network’s data to create surveillance tools, closing off a process that had been exploited by U.S. police departments to track protesters. Facebook, its Instagram unit and rival Twitter came under fire last year from privacy advocates after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said… more
So what was the FBI doing at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas, primarily known for music, movies and interactive media? James Baker, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s general counsel, took the stage at a hotel in Austin, Texas, on Monday to present a human face to the issues of encryption… more
Before Donald Trump’s election, Laurence Berland viewed political protest as a sort of curiosity. He was in a good place to see it: San Francisco’s Mission District, once an immigrant enclave in the country’s heartland of radicalism that is increasingly populated by people like him — successful tech workers driving up rents while enjoying a… more
A NATO top official told European allies Monday to increase spending on military funds, as requested by U.S. President Donald Trump, if they expect to keep important foreign alliances. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was “essential for the continued strength of the transatlantic bond on which our alliance is founded.” “For almost 70 years… more
U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at a two-day summit next month at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, according to media reports. The two-day meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 6-7, U.S. online media outlet Axios reported Monday, citing officials familiar with the plans. CNN also reported the planned summit,… more
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, making his first trip to Japan, South Korea and China as the top United States diplomat this week, is expected to expand the effort to find new options for dealing with North Korea and the nuclear and military threat it poses to the region and to the world. Pyongyang’s… more
Federal judges found more problems in Texas’ voting rights laws, ruling that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the growing electoral power of minorities, who former President Barack Obama set out to protect at the ballot box before leaving office. The ruling late Friday by a three-judge panel in San Antonio gave Democrats… more
A former White House spokesman during the Obama administration said Sunday he believes more will come to light regarding ties between Russia and aides to President Donald Trump. Josh Earnest pointed in part to political consultant Roger Stone’s communication with an individual involved in hacking Democratic National Committee emails. And when asked about Trump’s claim,… more
Sharing services are a growing trend in 21st economies. In London, the Spacehop website provides a marketplace where people who have unused living spaces can meet those looking for short-term work places. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry has more. Faith Lapidus narrates. …… more
Russia has hinted at involving the United States in a newly-launched regional dialogue Moscow says is aimed at seeking a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan. The move comes as Afghanistan’s national security adviser is due to visit Moscow to discuss the prospects for promoting reconciliation with armed opposition in his country. Moscow’s stepped… more
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has appealed to voters in Kentucky to support “a battle” to replace the nation’s health care program, commonly known as Obamacare, with a replacement bill authored by Republicans on Capitol Hill. “Folks let me be clear, this is going to be a battle in Washington, D.C., and for us to… more
Three families who helped shelter former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden in Hong Kong in 2013 after his mass leak of information about surveillance programs have asked Canada for asylum, their lawyer said Friday. The families — three Sri Lankan adults, a Filipina, and three stateless children — have long-pending asylum claims in… more
Humankind wastes a lot of energy, but thanks to new technologies, it is increasingly affordable to harvest and use it. At a recent energy summit in Washington, one of the participating commercial firms exhibited photovoltaic cells that turn waste heat into electricity. VOA’s George Putic reports. …… more
Cars with no steering wheel, no pedals and nobody at all inside could be driving themselves on California roads by the end of the year, under proposed new state rules that would give a powerful boost to the fast-developing technology. For the past several years, tech companies and automakers have been testing self-driving cars on… more
Movie stars, tech moguls and music artists are among those converging in Austin, Texas, starting this week, as part of South by Southwest Conference and Festivals. Known by its shorthand SXSW, the nine-day event, now in its 31st year, mixes music, film, comedy and digital entertainment, as well as technology and politics. The event in… more
In stepping up legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban, Democratic attorneys general are trying to use the court system to thwart the executive branch in the same way their GOP counterparts did under President Barack Obama. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Thursday he was asking a federal judge to find… more
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are expecting their second child. In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg says his wife Priscilla Chan is pregnant with a girl. The couple already has a 1-year-old daughter. In his post, Zuckerberg writes that he’s happy his first daughter, Max, will have a sister. Zuckerberg… more
The New York City medical examiner’s office will not release the cause and manner of death for Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations. An autopsy was performed after Ambassador Vitaly Churkin died suddenly last month, but the death required further study. Spokeswoman Julie Bolcer said Friday the city’s law department instructed the medical examiner’s office… more
If the tech industry is drawing one lesson from the latest WikiLeaks disclosures, it’s that data-scrambling encryption works, and the industry should use more of it. Documents purportedly outlining a massive CIA surveillance program suggest that CIA agents must go to great lengths to circumvent encryption they can’t break. In many cases, physical presence… more
President Donald Trump has asked former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Russia, a position likely to come with heavy scrutiny as questions swirl around Trump’s alleged connections to Moscow. Media reports say Huntsman has indicated his willingness to accept the position, though he has made no formal statement on… more
If this week’s WikiLeaks document dump is genuine, it includes a CIA list of the many and varied ways the electronic device in your hand, in your car, and in your home can be used to hack your life. It’s simply more proof that, “it’s not a matter of if you’ll get hacked, but when… more
U.S. President Donald Trump’s new environmental chief said Thursday that carbon dioxide emissions are not a chief contributor to global warming. “I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’ “But we don’t know that… more
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency of “devastating incompetence” Thursday after his organization was able to obtain and publish documents related to CIA hacking programs. “This is a historic act of devastating incompetence, to have created such an arsenal and then stored it all in one place and not secured it,”… more
Pouring milk into her cereal bowl, Olivia Juarez puts on an infectious smile for the camera, perhaps inspired by the telenovella playing behind her. “Can you fit me in your bag?” she asks, laughing. As a single mother who supports four children, several grandchildren and her own mother, Juarez has persevered through economic struggles all… more
China is seeking an international agreement to enhance state control over the internet in order to fight cyberattacks and cyberterrorism. Beijing wants to extend the existing idea of sovereignty over land and sea to cyberspace. Beijing has released its first white paper discussing how it will persuade different countries to join together in an international… more