Category: Technology

Some of the country's leading technology companies have committed to investing billions of dollars to strengthen cybersecurity defenses and to train skilled workers, the White House announced Wednesday following President Joe Biden's private meeting with top executives. The Washington gathering was held during a relentless stretch of ransomware attacks that have targeted critical infrastructure and major corporations, as well as other illicit cyber operations that U.S. authorities have linked to foreign hackers. The Biden administration has been urging the private sector to do its part to protect against those increasingly sophisticated attacks. In public remarks before the meeting, Biden referred to cybersecurity as a "core national security challenge" for the U.S. "The reality is most of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the federal government can't meet…

Five members of an Afghan girls robotics team have arrived in Mexico after evacuating from their home country. The girls landed in Mexico City on Tuesday night and were welcomed at the airport by Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard. "We might be very far away of what is happening in Afghanistan, but the human cause, the protection of the values and the causes that identify us Mexicans have made us commit so they can be in Mexico,” Ebrard said. An Afghan woman, member of the Afghanistan Robotic team, is seen during a press conference after her arrival to Mexico after asking for refuge, at the Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, on August 24, 2021.The robotics team made up of girls and women as young as 14 years old gained attention in 2017 when they traveled…

Officials with the U.S. space agency NASA has postponed a spacewalk scheduled for Tuesday at the International Space Station (ISS).NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide had been prepared to conduct the spacewalk to continue the upgrade to the station’s solar panel array. But officials say Vande Hei has a minor medical issue, requiring the activity be put off.The agency did not disclose the issue but said it was not a medical emergency.NASA says the spacewalk is not time-sensitive and crew members are continuing with other station work and activities. They say the ISS teams are assessing the next available opportunity to conduct the operation, sometime following the SpaceX cargo ship resupply launch planned for August 28 and spacewalks scheduled by the Russian team…

YouTube said Wednesday that it had removed more than 1 million videos with "dangerous coronavirus misinformation" since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.The statement by the Google-owned video platform came as social media platforms are under fire from political leaders for failing to stem the spread of false and harmful misinformation and disinformation about the virus and other topics.YouTube said in a blog post that it relies on "expert consensus from health organizations," including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, but noted that in some cases, "misinformation is less clear-cut" as new facts emerge."Our policies center on the removal of any videos that can directly lead to egregious real world harm," chief product officer Neal Mohan wrote."Since February of 2020, we've removed over 1 million videos related to…

The Russian hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign broke into the email accounts of some of the most prominent federal prosecutors' offices around the country last year, the Justice Department said.The department said 80% of Microsoft email accounts used by employees in the four U.S. attorney offices in New York were breached. All told, the Justice Department said, in 27 U.S. attorney offices at least one employee's email account was compromised during the hacking campaign.The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that it believes the accounts were compromised from May 7 to Dec. 27, 2020. Such a timeframe is notable because the SolarWinds campaign, which infiltrated dozens of private-sector companies and think tanks as well as at least nine U.S. government agencies, was first discovered and publicized in…

The last VHS player was produced five years ago by Funai Electric in Japan. But for many, the era of VHS tapes never ended. Karina Bafradzhian and Angelina Bagdasaryan have the story.Camera: David Gogokhia, Vazgen Varzhabitian. ...

Fake videos generated by artificial intelligence — also known as deep fakes — are becoming more common and harder to detect. But some deep fakes are being used for a good cause. Karina Bafradzhian has the story. ...

Amazon.com Inc has been hit with a record $886.6 million (746 million euros) European Union fine for processing personal data in violation of the bloc's GDPR rules, as privacy regulators take a more aggressive position on enforcement.The Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) imposed the fine on Amazon in a July 16 decision, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday.Amazon will appeal the fine, according to a company spokesperson. The e-commerce giant said in the filing it believed CNPD's decision was without merit.CNPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.EU's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, requires companies to seek people's consent before using their personal data or face steep fines.Globally, regulatory scrutiny of tech giants has been increasing following a string of scandals over…

There is growing international criticism of Israel following allegations that software from the private security company NSO was used to spy on journalists, dissidents, and even political leaders around the world. A group of American lawmakers is urging the U.S. government to take punitive action against the company, which denies any wrongdoing. In Israel, some experts are calling for better regulation of cyber exports. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. ...

France's European Affairs Minister on Thursday called Britain's decision to lift quarantine requirements for all fully vaccinated travelers arriving from Europe except France "discriminatory and incomprehensible" and said he hopes it is reviewed as soon as possible.  Clement Beaune made the comments during an interview on French television a day after Britain announced it was dropping the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated visitors from the European Union and the United States but that it would review rules for travelers from France only at the end of next week.  The British government has said it is keeping quarantine rules for travelers from France because of the presence of the beta variant there. But Beaune told French broadcaster LCI the beta strain accounted for fewer than 5% of COVID-19 cases in France,…

The success of Nigeria's national basketball team, D'Tigers, in pre-Olympic games this month is inspiring amateur players back home. The Nigerians beat the top ranked U.S. team at a friendly match and are currently the only African team competing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.  Camera: Emeka Gibson  Produced by: Mary Cieslak   ...

Cameroon’s government has sent ministers to its northern border with Nigeria to convince villagers who fled Boko Haram militants to return. Cameroon invested $10 million on reconstruction efforts after damage caused by the Islamist terrorist group in some villages. But, in northern Cameroon, many villagers are reluctant to go home, and authorities acknowledge the militants are still a threat. Bulldozers of Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Works fill destroyed portions of the 30-kilometer road linking Cameroon’s northern town of Mora to Banki, a town in northeast Nigeria. Celestine Ketcha Courtes, Cameroon’s minister of housing and urban development, and Talba Malla Ibrahim, minister of public contracts, traveled to the site this week. Courtes said they went to find out the effectiveness of reconstruction work on infrastructure damaged during fighting by Cameroonian troops…

Haitians displaced by gang incursions into swaths of the capital now live on the sharpest edge of insecurity in the Caribbean country, which is reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moise earlier this month.  Officials say thousands of people have lost their homes to encroachment by violent gangs into central and southern parts of the city, where urban sprawl envelops more than 2.5 million people.    "I've got no future in this country as a young man. I'm in an unstable situation, I can't build a home, the situation is really critical," said one youth, staying at a shelter in the Delmas 5 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.  Like others who spoke to Reuters at the center, which gives refuge to about 1,800 people, he declined to give his name for fear of reprisals…

A Libyan militia leader sanctioned by the United States for allegedly killing civilians was shot dead Tuesday in an exchange of fire with forces attempting to arrest him in an eastern city, officials said.  Libyan officials said security forces raided Mohamed al-Kani's house in Benghazi to carry out an arrest warrant on charges of killing civilians. Libyan officials and the U.S. allege al-Kani was responsible for the deaths of people found in mass graves last year in the western town of Tarhuna.  Tarhuna, a strategic town about 65 kilometers (41 miles) southeast of the Libyan capital of Tripoli, was under control of the al-Kaniyat militia, which gained a reputation for its brutal tactics. Led by al-Kani, the militia had initially sworn allegiance to a former government in Tripoli. But it switched sides in the…

The atmosphere at Olympics venues in Tokyo is eerie as the screams, shouts and cries of joy from athletes bounce off empty seats, with spectators banned from events.  The absence of fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major blow.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has had to fast-track its digital plans to add new elements at venues and heighten the experience for competing athletes, while also connecting them to the millions watching on screens at home.  "Human connection cannot be replicated digitally," said Yiannis Exarchos, chief executive of Olympic Broadcasting Services. "I think we need to be honest.  "I am a lover of technology but there is only so much technology can do," he told reporters.  Organizers seek to make up for the absence of spectators with…

The first person charged under Hong Kong's national security law was found guilty on Tuesday of terrorism and inciting secession in a landmark case with long-term implications for how the legislation reshapes the city's common law traditions.  An alternative charge of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm was not considered. The High Court will hear mitigation arguments on Thursday and sentencing will be announced at a later date.  Former waiter Tong Ying-kit, 24, was accused of driving his motorcycle into three riot police while carrying a flag with the protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times," which prosecutors said was secessionist.  The widely anticipated ruling, much of which has hinged on the interpretation of the slogan, imposes new limits on free speech in the former British colony. Pro-democracy activists…

Retired U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican known as a consensus-builder in an increasingly polarized Washington, has died. He was 77.  Enzi died Monday surrounded by family and friends, former spokesman Max D'Onofrio said.  Enzi had been hospitalized with a broken neck and ribs after a bicycle accident near Gillette on Friday. He was stabilized before being flown to a hospital in Colorado but remained unconscious, D'Onofrio said.  Enzi fell near his home about 8:30 p.m. Friday, family friend John Daly said, around the time Gillette police received a report of a man lying unresponsive in a road near a bike.  Police have seen no indication that anybody else was nearby or involved in the accident, Lt. Brent Wasson told the newspaper.  A former shoe salesman first elected to…

More than three months after winning an election which sparked a constitutional crisis, Samoa’s first female prime minister was finally able to take office on Tuesday.  A smiling Fiame Naomi Mata’afa sat in the chair her predecessor had been reluctant to relinquish after 22 years in power. She held her first Cabinet meeting, with members of her FAST Party dressed in the distinctive red clothes that party members and supporters often wear.  Fiame, 64, said they were ready to begin their work.  That could include a reset of the island nation’s relationship with China. On the campaign trail, Fiame had pledged to stop a $100 million port development backed by Beijing, calling the project excessive for a nation that’s already heavily in debt to China.  After a knife-edge election result…

Chinese companies with shares traded on American stock exchanges are facing significant challenges from political leaders in both Washington and Beijing. New regulations in both countries will make it much harder for other companies to follow in their footsteps, restricting access to billions of the dollars in funding that helped grow internet retail giant Alibaba, the online gaming firm Tencent, the ride-hailing service Didi, and until recently China Telecom. In Beijing, regulators have signaled that they plan to scrutinize domestic firms that want to list their shares abroad, particularly when those businesses collect data on Chinese consumers. Experts say this is causing many Chinese firms to reconsider plans to sell their shares on exchanges outside of China. At the same time, the Biden administration is moving forward with plans to…

Pakistan said Monday it "amicably" repatriated dozens of Afghan soldiers and police personnel to authorities in Afghanistan a day after they had crossed the border, apparently fleeing advances by Taliban insurgents.   Stepped up Taliban attacks in recent weeks have forced hundreds of pro-Afghan government forces to take shelter in Tajikistan, Iran, China and Pakistan, enabling the insurgents to seize landlocked Afghanistan's strategic border crossings with these neighbors.  The Pakistani military said the 46 Afghan security forces, including five officers, were given "refuge and safe passage" into Pakistan "on their own request" Sunday night after the men were unable to hold their military posts across the border.  "The said soldiers have now been amicably returned to Afghan authorities on their request along with their weapons and equipment," the statement said.…

Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph says an apology by the head of a South Korean television station after the broadcaster portrayed Haiti using stereotypical images "didn't go far enough.” Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. (MBC) used video footage of a riot in Haiti as Haitian athletes marched in the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. The broadcaster is under fire for its use of stereotypical images to portray several countries, including a picture of Count Dracula for the Romanian team and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to represent Team Ukraine. At a press conference Monday, Park Sung-jae, the president of MBC, bowed deeply and promised a "major makeover,” including installing an ethics committee and better screening system. The station also apologized to the embassies of Ukraine and Romania in Seoul, Park said. "Their apology didn't go far enough, but the incident shouldn't be allowed to distract from the athletes who…

Within months, U.S. forces in Iraq will end their combat duties there, President Joe Biden announced on Monday during a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.   In response to reporters' questions in the Oval Office, Biden, alongside the Iraqi leader, said the new role for American troops in Iraq will be "to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS (Islamic State group) as it arises, but we're not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission."  Biden declined to say how many U.S. troops, of the current level of approximately 2,500, will remain there  "This is a shift in mission. It is not a removal of our partnership or our presence or our close engagement with Iraqi…

Somalia's indirect election of lawmakers, expected to begin Sunday, was delayed once again as regional parliaments were not ready. No new date was set for the Somali upper house elections.  Authorities said the vote did not take place because the five state leaders failed to submit a list of the final candidates. They also said a regional parliamentary committee was not put in place to oversee the vote.  The chair of the federal election implementation committee, Mohamed Hassan Irro, said the process is on the right track despite the setbacks.  He says the country is working toward a fruitful poll process, adding that the main challenging aspect has been resolved following a political agreement between the federal and state-level leadership in the country.  Somalia's parliamentary and presidential elections were scheduled…

With Europe’s rise in coronavirus infections accelerating, more governments are seeking ways to force the unvaccinated, mainly in their twenties and thirties, to get inoculated, and avoid a return to lockdowns. Italy and Britain have followed France’s lead in planning or imposing restrictions on the unvaccinated.  The moves prompted street protests in both countries Sunday and Saturday. Several British Conservative lawmakers are threatening to boycott their party’s annual conference later this year because of vaccination requirements for attendees. Initial evidence, however, suggests compulsion is working. Within 24 hours of Italy announcing that from next month entry to sports stadiums, museums, cinemas, swimming pools and gyms will only be permitted for people who’ve been inoculated, appointments for vaccinations soared in some regions by 200%, say authorities in Rome. France saw a…

Tunisian troops blocked the head of parliament from entering the building early Monday, hours after President Kais Saied announced he had fired Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspended parliament for 30 days.  Saied said he was acting in response to the country’s economic woes and political deadlock and added that the country’s constitution gave him that authority.  Rached Ghannouchi, the parliament speaker and head of the Ennahdha party, called the president’s actions a “coup” and said the legislature would continue its work.  Two other main parties in parliament also called it a coup, which the president rejected.  Saied’s announcement drew crowds of demonstrators into the streets in the capital, Tunis, and elsewhere to celebrate.  There were also protesters outside the parliament building and some clashes between the opposing groups.  Tunisia has struggled economically for years, and along…

Police in Australia have warned that more anti-lockdown protests won’t be tolerated after thousands of people defied COVID-19 public health orders in Sydney Saturday. Health officials fear the illegal demonstration could become a super-spreader event as an outbreak of the delta variant in Sydney gets worse.  The hunt for the ringleaders of Saturday’s anti-lockdown demonstrations in Sydney is continuing. Dozens have been charged after confrontations with the police and riot officers.  Some protesters brought their children, and few were wearing masks. Police warn they will arrest people over unlawful activity. Health officials said the protests Saturday in three Australian cities, including Melbourne and Brisbane, would put lives at risk. Authorities have said that up to 3,500 people took part in the rally in Sydney.  After the protest, New South Wales police commissioner Mick Fuller said any repeat of the unrest would be met with a significant show of force.  “There is some…

Myanmar’s economy is forecast to shrink by 18% as it grapples with the coronavirus and the political turmoil unleashed by a coup, the World Bank said Monday. The contracting economy threatens millions with poverty, joblessness and hunger.  A decade ago, the Southeast Asian nation was seen as a promising frontier market. Its military began to slacken its grip, the economy opened up to the outside world for the first time in decades and Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party was democratically elected.  But observers believe a February 1 coup following a second resounding election victory for Suu Kyi’s party has turned back the clock, wiping out the fragile gains.  “The February coup — together with the most recent third wave of the pandemic, which rapidly worsened in June and July — has had significant economic impacts, much larger than those observed after the earlier surge in COVID-19 cases that began in September…

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