Ancient snake might have been 15 meters long, weighed 1,000 kilos
WASHINGTON — A ancient giant snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a ton, researchers reported Thursday. Fossils found near a coal mine revealed a snake that stretched an estimated 11 meters to 15 meters. It's comparable to the largest…
Doctors display ‘PillBot’ that can explore inner human body
vancouver, british columbia — A new, digestible mini-robotic camera, about the size of a multivitamin pill, was demonstrated at the annual TED Conference in Vancouver. The remote-controlled device can eliminate invasive medical procedures. With current technology, exploration of the digestive tract involves going through the highly…
Apple pulls WhatsApp and Threads from App Store on Beijing’s orders
HONG KONG — Apple said it had removed Meta's WhatsApp messaging app and its Threads social media app from the App Store in China to comply with orders from Chinese authorities. The apps were removed from the store Friday after Chinese officials cited unspecified national security…
Australian researchers develop prototype device to devour carbon dioxide to make electricity
Sydney — Australian researchers have built an electrical generator that consumes carbon dioxide, generates electricity and admits no exhausts. They say the technology could create a new industrial-scale carbon capture method. Scientists say too much carbon dioxide, or CO2, in the atmosphere is main driver of…
EU politicians embrace TikTok despite data security concerns
Sundsvall, Sweden — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s short videos of his three-day trip to China this week proved popular in posts on Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, which the European Union, Canada, Taiwan and the United States banned on official devices more than a year ago,…
4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana’s high holiday
SEATTLE — Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect…
Meta’s new AI agents confuse Facebook users
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — Facebook parent Meta Platforms has unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence systems that are powering what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls "the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use." But as Zuckerberg's crew of amped-up Meta AI agents started venturing into…
Reproductive rights elusive 1 year after Japan’s approval of abortion pill
Osaka, Japan — Wider access to abortion in Japan has largely remained elusive a year after the historic approval of medical abortion pills. In April last year, lawmakers approved the use of the two-step abortion pill — MeFeego Pack — for pregnancies up to nine weeks.…
US emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women
WASHINGTON — One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to check her in. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from…
Developers: Enhanced AI could outthink humans in 2 to 5 years
vancouver, british columbia — Just as the world is getting used to the rapidly expanding use of AI, or artificial intelligence, AGI is looming on the horizon. Experts say when artificial general intelligence becomes reality, it could perform tasks better than human beings, with the possibility…
WHO urges heightened vigilance on potential spread of bird flu in cows
Geneva — In the wake of a recent outbreak of avian influenza detected in dairy cows and goats in the United States, the World Health Organization is calling on governments to increase their surveillance and to “remain vigilant” regarding the possible spread of this deadly disease…
Google fires 28 workers protesting contract with Israel
New York — Google fired 28 employees following a disruptive sit-down protest over the tech giant's contract with the Israeli government, a Google spokesperson said Thursday. The Tuesday demonstration was organized by the group "No Tech for Apartheid," which has long opposed "Project Nimbus," Google's joint…
Zimbabwe mine turns dumpsite into solar station
A gold mine in Zimbabwe has turned its former dumpsite into a solar station, generating all the energy it needs for operations at the mine and releasing excess energy into the national grid. Located in Zimbabwe’s southwestern Bubi district, some 500 kilometers from the capital,…
UK, EU face significant medicine shortages, study says
LONDON — Patients in the U.K. and European Union are facing shortages of vital medicines such as antibiotics and epilepsy medication, research published Thursday found. The report by Britain's Nuffield Trust think-tank found the situation had become a "new normal" in the U.K. and was "also…
NASA chief warns of Chinese military presence in space
Washington — China is bolstering its space capabilities and is using its civilian program to mask its military objectives, the head of the U.S. space agency said Wednesday, warning that Washington must remain vigilant. "China has made extraordinary strides especially in the last 10 years, but…
Hospitals in eastern DRC face vaccine shortages
Goma — In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, specifically in the Beni and Butembo region, parents are finding it hard getting vaccines for their children. Health care providers report that vaccines have been in short supply for several months, leaving thousands of children unvaccinated. Parents…
New effort tackles drug overdose epidemic in US
The Biden Administration has launched a new effort to tackle the drug overdose epidemic in the United States, which in 2022 took more than 100,000 lives, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But as VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, some critics…
Report: Decades of progress in sexual, reproductive health being rolled back
GENEVA — Decades of progress in sexual and reproductive health are being rolled back with the poorest, most vulnerable members of society at greatest risk of losing out on lifesaving services, according to the 2024 State of World Population report. The report, issued Wednesday by the…
AI-generated fashion models could bring more diversity to industry — or leave it with less
Chicago, Illinois — London-based model Alexsandrah has a twin, but not in the way you'd expect: Her counterpart is made of pixels instead of flesh and blood. The virtual twin was generated by artificial intelligence and has already appeared as a stand-in for the real-life Alexsandrah…
Polish abortion opponents march against steps to liberalize strict law
WARSAW — Thousands of Polish opponents of abortion marched Sunday in Warsaw to protest recent steps by the new government to liberalize the predominantly Catholic nation’s strict laws and allow termination of pregnancy until the 12th week. Many participants in the downtown march were pushing prams…
Instagram blurring nudity in messages to protect teens, fight sexual extortion
LONDON — Instagram says it's deploying new tools to protect young people and combat sexual extortion, including a feature that will automatically blur nudity in direct messages. The social media platform said in a blog post Thursday that it's testing out the features as part of…
Study: Mexico produces tons of illicit fentanyl, can’t get enough for medical use
MEXICO CITY — A report released by the Mexican government Friday says the country is facing a dire shortage of fentanyl for medical use, even as Mexican cartels pump out tons of the illicit narcotic. The paradox was reported in a study by Mexico's National Commission…