Swedish Embassy Exhibit Highlights Uses of Artificial Intelligence
WASHINGTON — Artificial Intelligence for good is the subject of a new exhibit at the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, showing how Swedish companies and organizations are using AI for a more open society, a healthier world, and a greener planet. Ambassador Urban Ahlin told an embassy reception that Sweden’s broad collaboration across industry, academia and government makes it a leader in applying AI in public-interest areas, such as clean tech, social sciences, medical research, and greener food supply chains. That includes tracking the mood and health of cows. Fitbit for cows It is technology developed by DeLaval, a producer of dairy and farming machinery. The firm’s Market Solution Manager in North America Joaquin Azocar says the small wearable device the size of an earring fits in a cow’s ear and…
Businesswomen Envision a Greener Mozambique
Two female entrepreneurs in Mozambique have started businesses that help fight climate change and reduce pollution. Amarilis Gule has this story from the capital, Maputo. Michele Joseph narrates. ...
Latin America, Caribbean Set for Record Dengue Season
WASHINGTON — Latin America and the Caribbean should prepare for their worst dengue season ever, as global warming and the El Niño climate phenomenon fuel the mosquito-borne epidemic, a U.N. health agency warned Thursday. In less than three months in 2024, regional health authorities have already tallied more than 3.5 million cases and a thousand deaths from the virus, which is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. "Probably this will be the worst dengue season [in the region]," said Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization. The 3.5 million cases recorded so far are three times more than the number of infections at this point in 2023, a record year that saw 4.5 million cases, Barbosa said. Dengue, which can cause hemorrhagic fever, is common in hotter…
Aborted Space Launch Sees Success on Second Try
A space launch aborted only to find success days later. Plus, Japan makes a push into private spaceflight, and NASA really wants you to see the solar eclipse — but safety first. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. ...
Japan Moon Probe Survives Second Lunar Night
TOKYO — Japan's unmanned moon lander woke up after surviving a second frigid, two-week lunar night and transmitted new images back to Earth, the country's space agency said Thursday. "We received a response from SLIM last night and confirmed that SLIM had successfully completed its second overnight," the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a post on the official X account for its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe. "Since the sun was still high in the sky last night and the equipment was still hot, we recorded images of the usual scenery with the navigational camera, among other activities, for a short period of time," it added. A black-and-white photo of the rocky surface of a crater accompanied the post on X, formerly Twitter. The SLIM lander touched…
Chinese Leader to Dutch PM: Restricting Technology Access Won’t Stop China’s Advance
BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping told visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday that attempts to restrict China's access to technology will not stop the country's advance. The Netherlands imposed export licensing requirements in 2023 on the sale of machinery that can make advanced processor chips. The move came after the United States blocked Chinese access to advanced chips and the equipment to make them, citing security concerns, and urged its allies to follow suit. An online report from state broadcaster CCTV did not mention the chip machinery, but quoted Xi as saying that the creation of scientific and technological barriers and the fragmentation of the industrial and supply chains will lead to division and confrontation. "The Chinese people also have the right to legitimate development, and no force…
Gaza Hospital Patients in Jerusalem Face Uncertainty
Israel has ordered Palestinian hospital patients back to the Gaza Strip after they’re done with treatment in East Jerusalem medical facilities. As Linda Gradstein reports from East Jerusalem, the order has sparked an outcry from human rights groups, and the Israeli Supreme Court has put their transfer on hold. ...
US Supreme Court Hears Case on Access to Abortion Pill
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could significantly restrict access to the drug mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions. Deana Mitchell has our story. ...
Vietnamese Automaker VinFast to Start Selling EVs in Thailand
Bangkok — Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced Tuesday that it plans to sell its electric vehicles in Thailand and said it had tied up with auto dealers to open showrooms in the country. VinFast, which only began exporting its EVs last year, faces stiff competition in Thailand from Chinese automakers like BYD. Tesla also recently entered the fray. All were displaying their latest models at the Bangkok International Motor Show. The Thai EV market is small but growing fast, buoyed by incentives and subsidies from the government. The country of more than 70 million plans to convert 30% of the 2.5 million vehicles it makes annually into EVs by 2030. VinFast hopes to start selling both its electric scooters and electric SUVs in the country in the next two months, Vu Dang…
US Aims to Tap Domestic Lithium Supply Without Chinese Products
washington — Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a record conditional loan of $2.26 billion to tap the largest known lithium reserves in North America. The loan is an important step in an effort by the U.S. government to reduce reliance on China for the metal used to make batteries. Analysts, however, say that it may be too late to move away from reliance on China completely when it comes to metal processing and the production of batteries. The DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) says the funds, if approved after review, will help the Lithium Americas Corp. construct a lithium carbonate processing plant at the Thacker Pass mine project in Humboldt County, Nevada. The LPO says the project would help “secure reliable, sustainable domestic supply chains for critical…
Critics Slam Apple CEO Tim Cook for Laudatory Remarks in China
Washington — Tim Cook, CEO of the American technology giant Apple, is facing criticism at home over laudatory remarks he made about China during a recent visit to try to boost sagging iPhone sales in the lucrative market. Cook was in Shanghai for the opening of China's largest Apple retail store on Friday and met with Chinese political and business people. He praised China for being "so vibrant and so dynamic," in remarks widely quoted by state media and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying. The new Apple store took seven years and cost over 80 million yuan (roughly $11.1 million) to build. It is said to be the second largest in the world and the largest in Asia, and it is staffed by about 150 people. Thursday evening, at least…
Schools to Reopen in South Sudan After Two Weeks of Extreme Heat
JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan's government on Tuesday said schools will reopen next week following a two-week closure due to extreme heat across the country. The health and education ministries said temperatures were expected to steadily drop with the rainy season set to begin in the coming days. South Sudan in recent years has experienced adverse effects of climate change, with extreme heat, flooding and drought reported during different seasons. During the heatwave last week, the country registered temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). Teachers have been urged to minimize playground activities to early morning or indoors, ventilate classrooms, provide water during school time and monitor children for signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Health Minister Yolanda Awel Deng singled out Northern Bahr El-Ghazel, Warrap, Unity and Upper…
Battery Swap Technologies May Advance E-Vehicle Adoption in Africa
Electric vehicles can lower pollution and save drivers money, but in Africa, uneven access to electricity is a significant barrier to their success. In Ghana, battery-swap technologies are offering a solution. Senanu Tord reports from Accra. ...
LogOn: Robots Hand Write Letters for Humans
Not long ago, people wrote letters by hand. But like many things eclipsed by modern technology, handwritten letters are less common than they used to be. Now, that technology has started writing those letters. VOA’s Julie Taboh introduces us to handwriting robots in this week’s episode of LogOn. ...
West Reliant on Russian Nuclear Fuel Amid Decarbonization Push
An analysis by Britain’s Royal United Services Institute has found that many Western nations still rely on Russian nuclear fuel to power their reactors, despite efforts to sever economic ties with the Kremlin following its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. ...
Florida’s Governor Signs One of Country’s Most Restrictive Social Media Bans for Minors
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida will have one of the country's most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges — under a bill signed by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday. The bill will ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 15- and 16-year-olds. It was slightly watered down from a proposal DeSantis vetoed earlier this month, a week before the annual legislative session ended. The new law was Republican Speaker Paul Renner’s top legislative priority. It takes effect January 1. “A child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know that they’re being sucked into these addictive technologies and to see the harm and step away from it, and because of that we have to step…
US Vice President: Banning TikTok ‘Not at All the Goal’
Austin, Texas — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said the Biden administration has no intention to ban TikTok, the popular short video application from Chinese company ByteDance. Harris told ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday that a ban was “not at all the goal or the purpose of this conversation.” The White House urged the Senate last week to swiftly advance a bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok over privacy and national security concerns within six months or face a ban. U.S. officials and lawmakers worry that the Chinese government could access American consumers’ data on the platform, which could also be used to push a pro-Beijing agenda. ByteDance denies it would provide such private data to the Chinese government, despite reports indicating it could be at risk. The…
TikTok Bill Faces Uncertain Fate in Senate
WASHINGTON — The young voices in the messages left for North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis were laughing, but the words were ominous. “OK, listen, if you ban TikTok I will find you and shoot you,” one said, giggling and talking over other young voices in the background. “I’ll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces.” Another threatened to kill Tillis, and then take their own life. Tillis’s office says it has received around 1,000 calls about TikTok since the House passed legislation this month that would ban the popular app if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake. TikTok has been urging its users — many of whom are young — to call their representatives, even providing an easy link to the phone numbers. “The government will take…
Geomagnetic Storm From Solar Flare Could Disrupt Radio Communications
BOULDER, Colo. — Space weather forecasters have issued a geomagnetic storm watch through Monday, saying an outburst of plasma from a solar flare could interfere with radio transmissions on Earth. It could also make for great aurora viewing. There's no reason for the public to be concerned, according to the alert issued Saturday by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. The storm could interrupt high-frequency radio transmissions, such as by aircraft trying to communicate with distant traffic control towers. Most commercial aircraft can use satellite transmission as backup, said Jonathan Lash, a forecaster at the center. Satellite operators might have trouble tracking their spacecraft, and power grids could also see some "induced current" in their lines, though nothing they can't handle, he said. "For the general public, if you…
WHO: Investing in TB Prevention, Screening, Treatment Will Save Lives, Money
Geneva — In marking World Tuberculosis Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to rid the world of this ancient scourge, which has sickened and killed millions of people throughout the ages. This year’s theme, “Yes! We can end TB," is intended to send a message of hope that ending the epidemic, which WHO says each year causes the deaths of some 1.3 million people, is possible. While the disease is curable and preventable, heads of state at the 2023 U.N. high-level meeting on TB estimated that $13 billion was needed every year for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care to end the epidemic by 2030. The heads of state, who pledged to accelerate progress to end TB and to turn these commitments “into tangible actions,” approved a series of…
Uganda Sees Bamboo as a Crop with Real Growth Potential
ALONG RIVER RWIZI, Uganda — Along a stretch of bush by a muddy river, laborers dug and slashed in search of bamboo plants buried under dense grass. Here and there a few plants had sprouted tall, but most of the bamboo seedlings planted more than a year ago never grew. Now, environment protection officers seeking to restore a 3-kilometer stretch of the river's degraded banks were aiming to plant new bamboo seedlings, clear room for last year's survivors to grow and look after them better than they did the first time. A successful bamboo forest by the river Rwizi — the most important in a large part of western Uganda that includes the major city of Mbarara — would create a buffer zone against sand miners, subsistence farmers and others whose…