France says Telegram CEO has been freed, will appear in court
PARIS — French prosecutors on Wednesday freed Telegram CEO Pavel Durov from police custody after four days of questioning over allegations that the platform is being used for illegal activities. Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a judicial…
Mpox outbreak in Africa poses risks for refugees, displaced communities
GENEVA — U.N. agencies warn that refugees and displaced communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries infected with mpox are at particular risk of illness and death because of conditions under which they are forced to live. The World Health Organization says…
Iran’s Khamenei urges government to impose cyberspace controls
Tehran, Iran — Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday urged the new government to impose controls over the Islamic republic's cyberspace, which has already been under heavy restrictions in recent years. "What matters is for the rule of law to be applied in the…
WHO launches plan to stanch mpox transmission, says virus can be stopped
GENEVA — The U.N. health agency on Monday launched a six-month plan to help stanch outbreaks of mpox transmission, including ramping up staffing in affected countries and boosting surveillance, prevention and response strategies. The World Health Organization said it expected the plan, running from September through…
France’s Macron: Arrest of head of Telegram messaging app wasn’t political
Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn't a political move but part of an independent investigation. French media reported that Durov was detained at a Paris airport on…
Disposable vape products creating worldwide pollution
The rapid rise in disposable electronic cigarette, or vape, usage is creating a tidal wave of pollution, and it’s raising serious environmental concerns. Aron Ranen reports from New York City about one woman who is trying to make a difference. ...
China robot conference spotlights the changing face of humanoids
Beijing — As China seeks to race ahead in humanoid robot development, its supply chains showcased cheaper and innovative parts at the world robot conference in Beijing, but some executives warn the industry has yet to improve product reliability. Wisson Technology (Shenzhen), known for its flexible…
Congo-Brazzaville reports 21 mpox cases
Brazzaville, Congo — Twenty-one cases of mpox have been recorded in Congo-Brazzaville, the country's health minister told state television Sunday. Gilbert Mokoki said that the central African country had "registered 158 suspect cases" since the beginning of the year, "21 of which we have confirmed." The…
CEO of Telegram messaging app arrested in France, say French media
paris — Pavel Durov, billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unnamed sources. Telegram, particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet…
Cholera poses new risks for millions of Sudan’s displaced
GENEVA — U.N. agencies are scaling up cholera prevention and treatment programs to get on top of a new, deadly cholera outbreak in Sudan that threatens to further destabilize communities suffering from hunger and the ill effects of more than 16 months of conflict. The recent…
NASA decides to keep 2 stranded astronauts in space until February
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA decided Saturday it’s too risky to bring two astronauts back to Earth in Boeing’s troubled new capsule, and they'll have to wait until next year for a ride home with SpaceX. What should have been a weeklong test flight for the…
Chinese entities turn to Amazon cloud, rivals to access US chips, AI
BEIJING/SINGAPORE/NEW YORK — State-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services provided by Amazon or its rivals to access advanced U.S. chips and artificial intelligence capabilities that they cannot acquire otherwise, recent public tender documents showed. The U.S. government has restricted the export of high-end AI chips…
Cholera spreads as Sudan grapples with rains and displacement
Port Sudan — For the second consecutive year Sudan is in the grip of a cholera outbreak that has left at least 28 people dead in the last month as rains fall in areas crammed with those fleeing the country's 16-month-old war, officials said. Since July…
Second set of giant panda cubs born in Berlin
BERLIN — The Berlin Zoo announced Friday that longtime resident giant panda Meng Meng has given birth to twins — for a second time. The cubs were born on Thursday, the zoo said in a statement. They were born only 11 days after ultrasound scans showed…
UN agencies help in attempts to contain mpox in south, east Africa
Harare, Zimbabwe — The United Nations said Thursday it is working with governments and health officials in Eastern and Southern Africa to contain the outbreak of mpox there. UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with local partners,…
Volcano in Iceland erupts for sixth time since December
COPENHAGEN, denmark — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Thursday, the meteorological office said, spraying red-hot lava and smoke in its sixth outbreak since December. "An eruption has begun. Work is under way to find out the location of the recordings," the Icelandic Met Office,…
Growth of rooftop solar power generation threatens grid in Pakistan
A green revolution is sweeping Pakistan as consumers switch to generating their own solar electricity. But as VOA Pakistan bureau chief Sarah Zaman reports, the move to the increasingly affordable, green option may also cause a crisis for the national grid. Videographer: Wajid Asad ...