Month: April 2024

Images of African senior citizens walking a fashion runway created a buzz on social media, with AI-generated pictures challenging traditional depictions of elderly Africans. VOA’s Karina Choudhury has all the looks in this week’s episode of LogOn. Videographer: Samuel Okocha ...

BEIJING — China will send a robotic spacecraft in coming days on a round trip to the moon's far side in the first of three technically demanding missions that will pave the way for an inaugural Chinese crewed landing and a base on the lunar south pole. Since the first Chang'e mission in 2007, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, China has made leaps forward in its lunar exploration, narrowing the technological chasm with the United States and Russia. In 2020, China brought back samples from the moon's near side in the first sample retrieval in more than four decades, confirming for the first time it could safely return an uncrewed spacecraft to Earth from the lunar surface. This week, China is expected to launch Chang'e-6 using the backup spacecraft…

BEIJING — Tesla has cleared some key regulatory hurdles that have long hindered it from rolling out its self-driving software in China, paving the way for a favorable result from Elon Musk's surprise visit to the U.S. automaker's second-largest market. Tesla CEO Musk arrived in the Chinese capital Sunday, where he was expected to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and permission to transfer driving data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The billionaire's whirlwind visit, during which he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, came just over a week after he scrapped a planned trip to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing "very heavy Tesla obligations." On Monday, two separate sources told Reuters Tesla had reached an agreement with Baidu to…

HARARE — From ancient fertilizer methods in Zimbabwe to new greenhouse technology in Somalia, farmers across the heavily agriculture-reliant African continent are looking to the past and future to respond to climate change. Africa, with the world's youngest population, faces the worst effects of a warming planet while contributing the least to the problem. Farmers are scrambling to make sure the booming population is fed. With more than 60% of the world’s uncultivated land, Africa should be able to feed itself, some experts say. And yet three in four people across the continent cannot afford a healthy diet, according to a report last year by the African Union and United Nations agencies. Reasons include conflict and lack of investment. In Zimbabwe, where the El Nino phenomenon has worsened a drought, small-scale…

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As climate change wreaks havoc around the world, the need for sustainable solutions grows more urgent. In Nigeria, a private company recently introduced an Uber-style taxi system made of approximately 200 electric vehicles. The company says the fleet is a step toward a greener future. Gibson Emeka reports from Abuja, Nigeria. Amy Reifenrath narrates. ...

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden was in Syracuse, New York, Thursday to tout a deal to provide memory chip maker Micron Technology with $6.1 billion in federal grants to support the firm in building factories in the states of New York and Idaho. “We're bringing advanced chip manufacturing back to America after 40 years,” Biden said Thursday. He said the funding, paired with a $125 billion investment from Micron, represents the “single biggest private investment ever in history of these two states.” The investment will support the construction of two plants in Clay, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, and one in Boise, Idaho. The grant will unleash “$50 billion in private investment by 2030 as the first step towards Micron’s investment of up to $125 billion across both states…

washington — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules and reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet rescinded under former President Donald Trump.  The commission voted along party lines to finalize a proposal first advanced in October to reinstate open internet rules adopted in 2015 and re-establish the commission's broadband authority.  FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency "believes every consumer deserves internet access that is fast, open, and fair."  "The last FCC threw this authority away and decided broadband needed no supervision," she said.  Net neutrality refers to the principle that internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.  The FCC said it was also using its…

TOKYO — Japan’s first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan’s space agency said Wednesday after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the lunar probe responded to a signal from the earth Tuesday night, confirming it has survived another weekslong lunar night. Temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius during a lunar night and rise to around 100 Celsius during a lunar day.  The probe, Smart Lander for Investing Moon, or SLIM, reached the lunar surface on Jan. 20, making Japan the fifth country to successfully place a probe on the moon.  SLIM landed the wrong way up with its solar panels initially unable to see the sun, and had to be turned…

Artificial intelligence surrounds U.S. political life, from fundraising to campaign advertising. Some lawmakers are looking to better police the use of generative content in this year’s presidential election as they say it threatens voter confidence in what is real. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns reports. ...

The Dutch company Holoconnects are experts in the field of holographic illusions and are now delivering life-size personal connections with a 2-meter-tall box that make it feel like the person you are talking to is physically present. Deana Mitchell has more from Austin, Texas in this week’s episode of LogOn. ...

Taiwan is looking to Southeast Asia as a pipeline to fill its shortage of high-tech talent. The numbers of foreign students coming to the island has been growing, especially from Vietnam and Indonesia. VOA Mandarin’s Peh Hong Lim reports from Hsinchu, Taiwan. Adrianna Zhang contributed. ...