Category: Technology

Kenyan activists are celebrating after a Chinese-backed plan to build East Africa’s first coal-fired power plant near the World Heritage site island town of Lamu has again been halted.  Ruud Elmendorp reports from Lamu on the continuing controversy.  ...

Another 10 Democratic U.S. presidential contenders will debate Thursday night, including a larger number of leading candidates, following a spirited Wednesday night debate in the first major event of the 2020 election campaign. Thursday's participants include former Vice President Joe Biden and other top-tier possible choices, including Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California; Mayor Pete Buttigieg of the Midwestern city of South Bend, Indiana; along with six others. All twenty Democratic presidential hopefuls hope to oust Republican President Donald Trump after a single term in the White House. The immediate focus Wednesday was on Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a progressive lawmaker from the northeastern state of Massachusetts who national surveys show has edged closer to Biden as a Democratic favorite to oppose Trump in the election set…

Kenya’s only ice hockey team is still trying to earn a bid for the 2022 winter Olympics, being held in Beijing. In a two-day friendly event held in Nairobi last weekend, the team qualified for the finals but fell to team USA in a nail biter.  In eastern Africa’s only ice rink – Kenya’s only ice hockey team, the Ice Lions, took on their first opponents in a home tournament. Team member Hassan Ali Shah says the Ice Lions got off to a great start even though the matches didn't count. "It's a great feeling, especially for Team Kenya, since this is our first game we are hosting here in Kenya,” Shah said. The team has come of age since the beginning of last year when it was created. Eric…

A father and daughter from El Salvador were found dead Monday after they tried to cross the Rio Grande River from Mexico into the United States. A photo of their bodies published first by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, has become widely circulated by news organizations and on social media, boosting attention on the circumstances of migrants who face long wait times for adjudication of asylum cases at the border. It also sparked debate about whether it is appropriate to share such sensitive images. According to reports from La Jornada and the Associated Press, Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez was frustrated and tired of waiting for an opportunity to request U.S. asylum and made the decision Sunday night to try to cross the river with his wife and daughter. Ramirez was…

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday reversed a move to loosen gun control laws by presidential decree, in a strategic retreat after lawmakers pushed back on one of the far-right leader's key campaign promises. In May, Bolsonaro signed decrees easing restrictions on importing and carrying guns and buying ammunition, which needed congressional approval to become permanent law. After the Senate rejected a decree last week, Bolsonaro decided on Tuesday to revoke it and reconsider his strategy. The former army captain vowed last year to crack down on crime and ease access to guns, rolling back decades of arms control efforts as many Brazilians clamored for a dramatic response to rising violent crime. Bolsonaro's reversal on Tuesday, published in a late edition of the government's official gazette, contradicted comments made just…

A Kenyan ice hockey team, the only one in East Africa, has hosted an exhibition tournament with teams made up by foreign diplomats.  The Kenya Ice Lions hope to bring more attention to the sport and its bid to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics.  Sarah Kimani reports from Nairobi. ...

Just a month after a state visit to Japan, U.S. President Donald Trump this week heads to the East Asian country again.   In Osaka, Trump will attend the Group of 20 leaders’ summit, during which he is scheduled to meet one-on-one on the sidelines with such fellow world leaders as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.   “The president is quite comfortable his position going into the meeting” with Xi following the breakdown of U.S.-China trade talks and increased tariffs on Beijing by Washington, a senior administration official told reporters on Monday.     U.S. officials say there is no fixed agenda for Trump’s meeting with Putin although they acknowledge issues involving Iran, Ukraine, the Middle East and Venezuela are almost certain to be discussed.  US-Iran…

The United States is convening an economic workshop in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain Tuesday aimed at jumpstarting the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. America’s Middle East allies are attending but the key players are not there.    The “Peace to Prosperity” conference was initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Mideast envoy, Jared Kushner. The aim is to revive the peace process with economic incentives, while putting aside the thorny political issues until later. The plan offers $27 billion in aid to the Palestinians, most of which would be financed by wealthy Arab states led by Saudi Arabia. Some $23 billion would be earmarked for poorer Arab states bordering Israel, namely, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. The Palestinian Authority is boycotting the workshop, declaring that the…

Britain appears to be moving closer to U.S. President Donald Trump’s position on Iran and hardening its attitude towards Tehran — the result, diplomats say, partly of talks during the American leader’s recent visit to London, but also because of aggressive Iranian actions. U.S. officials say they’ve been cheered by the stiffening of Britain’s public rhetoric in support of Trump in the precarious standoff with Tehran. They contrast that with British criticism of Trump's decision last year to pull out of a 2015 deal, co-signed by his predecessor Barack Obama, in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.  President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement, citing concerns that Tehran had done nothing to curb expansionist behavior in the region and was still determined…

U.S. President Donald Trump says the letter he sent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was a “very friendly” response to a letter he received from Kim earlier this month wishing him a happy birthday. Trump told reporters at the White House Monday that Kim “actually sent me birthday wishes and it was a friendly letter." Trump turned 73 on June 14. The comments come a day after North Korean state media quoted Kim as saying he had received a letter of "excellent content" from Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement overnight that "correspondence between the two leaders has been ongoing." The exchange of letters comes as talks between the United States and North Korea remain stalled over North Korea’s nuclear program. The two countries…

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed what he described as "hard-hitting" new financial sanctions on Iran on Monday, specifically targeting the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump signed an executive order he said would curb access that Khamenei and the country have to world financial markets. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the action would "literally" lock up "tens and tens of billions of dollars" of Iranian assets. The U.S. leader called his order a "strong and proportionate" American response to Tehran's shoot-down last week of an unmanned U.S. drone, which Washington says occurred in international airspace near the Strait of Hormuz and Iran claims occurred over its airspace. Drone incident Trump at the last minute last Thursday rejected a military response to the downing of the drone upon learning that…

Sudan's protest movement accepted an Ethiopian roadmap for a civilian-led transitional government, a spokesman said on Sunday, after a months-long standoff with the country's military rulers — who did not immediately commit to the plan. Ethiopia has led diplomatic efforts to bring the protest and military leaders back to the negotiating table, after a crackdown against the pro-democracy movement led to a collapse in talks. According to protest organizers, security forces killed at least 128 people across the country, after they violently dispersed the sit-in demonstration outside the military's headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, earlier this month. Authorities have offered a lower death toll of 61, including three from the security forces. Yet it appeared that protest leaders, represented by the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, were…

Another Democrat has entered the 2020 race for the White House. Retired Navy admiral and former Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak announced his candidacy Sunday on his website. He introduced himself to voters by telling them "I wore the cloth of the nation for over 31 years in peace and war, from the Vietnam and Cold War eras to Afghanistan and Iran and the emergence of China." He said he postponed announcing his candidacy to care for a daughter ill with brain cancer. Sestak was also part of former U.S. President Bill Clinton's national security team, holds a doctorate in government from Harvard, and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate twice. He embraces many positions popular with liberals, including abortion rights, gun control, and backs the nuclear deal with Iran. Sestak…

Syrian rebel groups have launched a major offensive this week against government troops in a Syrian province in what is seen by analysts as a new twist to the ongoing conflict in the northwestern part of the country. Rebel fighters affiliated with the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation said Tuesday that they have begun targeting Syrian regime forces in the northern part of Hama, a province bordering the flashpoint province of Idlib, which is the last rebel stronghold in Syria. The new assault is primarily aimed at targeting villages from which government forces launch attacks on Idlib, according to a rebel source quoted by German news agency DPA. This “military operation that opposition groups have started positions belonging to regime troops came about after government forces deployed military reinforcements in…

During the 1969 series of riots that followed a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, the New York Daily News headlined a story that quickly became infamous: “Homo Nest Raided, Queen Bees are Stinging Mad.” Some of the coverage of rioting outside the gay bar — unimaginable today in mainstream publications for its mocking tone — was itself a source of the fury that led Stonewall to become a synonym for the fight for gay rights. Fifty years later, media treatment of the LGBTQ community has changed and is still changing. “The progress has been extraordinary, with the caveat that we still have a lot to do,” said Cathy Renna, a former executive for the media watchdog GLAAD who runs her own media consulting firm. FILE - A New York…

Museums across the United States are striving to be more accessible to everyone. That includes touchable versions of photographs and paintings for people who may not be able to see them. At a recent expo by the American Alliance of Museums in New Orleans, new technology was used to help the visually impaired “see” art and pictures. VOA’s Deborah Block tells us more. ...

Concrete military walls and police security checkpoints are seen on every corner of Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul.  The robust security presence signals a major effort to protect civilians and government officials from terrorist attacks.  But the very real threat of violence, like a suicide attack, doesn't stop Kabul residents from living and enjoying their daily lives.  VOA’s Ahmad Samir Rassoly gives us a unique view of a typical night in Kabul. ...

A seven-story building under construction collapsed in Cambodia's coastal city of Sihanoukville early Saturday, killing seven workers and injuring 21, authorities said.   Provincial authorities said in a statement that four Chinese nationals involved in the construction have been detained while an investigation into the collapse is carried out.   Rescue work at the site was underway to find out if any more workers were trapped in the rubble, said the city police chief, Maj. Thul Phorsda. Workers could be seen using saws to cut steel beams and excavators to move piles of rubble from the site.   The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training said that 30 workers were at the site when the building tumbled around 4 a.m.  Police and provincial authorities said they were unsure how many…

U.N. Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet is urging the Venezuelan government to free hundreds of jailed dissidents who were arrested for participating in peaceful protests. Her request came at the end of a three-day visit Friday to Venezuela during which she met with President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido. Top UN Human Rights Chief Meets Venezuelan Opposition Leader GuaidoThe UN official is also scheduled to meet with President Maduro At a Caracas news conference before leaving the country, Bachelet called on the government "to release all those who are detained or deprived of their liberty for exercising their rights in a peaceful manner." Rights groups have been pressuring Bachelet to advocate on behalf of more than 700 people they say have been jailed for political reasons, a claim…

VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson and VOA Persian's Katherine Ahn contributed to this report from Washington. WASHINGTON — Iran warned Saturday that it would react sharply to any perceived aggression against it. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told the semi-official Tasnim  news agency that Iran would not allow any of its borders to be violated.  He said "Iran will firmly confront any aggression or threat by America." Britain's Middle East minister travels to Tehran Sunday for talks with Iranian officials.  Britain's Foreign Office said Andrew Murrison will call for "urgent de-escalation in the region."  Murrison will also discuss Iran's threat to cease complying with the nuclear deal that the United States pulled out of last year.   Friday U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States was "cocked…

Delays in obtaining passports are making some Zimbabweans think of "jumping the border" to look for jobs and a better life. People are still applying for the documents so they can travel legally, but the wait is long and hopes are growing dim.  A line formed Thursday evening near midnight outside Harare’s only passport office. The people covered themselves in blankets or plastic. It was chilly, being winter in this part of the world. Some started a fire to keep the cold at bay.  Applicants outside a Harare passport office use fire to keep cold at bay, June 21, 2019. (C. Mavhunga/VOA) By 4 a.m. Friday there were about 20 people in line, and they were already worried. Passport office authorities are accepting between five and 15 applicants a day.  The people in line were…

Senior political figures from Afghanistan, including several presidential candidates, will attend a rare, unofficial meeting in neighboring Pakistan Saturday where they will hold discussions on how to promote “peace and reconciliation” efforts in their war-ravaged country. The conference will be held in the tourist resort of Bhurban, about 70 kilometers from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Around 30 Afghans, mostly opposition leaders, have been invited, organizers said. They say that the meeting is being held in support of ongoing U.S.-led efforts to bring an end to the 17-year-old war with the Taliban. No representatives of the Taliban insurgency will attend the conference. It comes ahead of the June 27 official visit to Pakistan by President Ashraf Ghani, who is also seeking re-election in the September presidential vote in Afghanistan. Ghani’s election rivals,…

Dozens of European citizens of Somali origin who joined the Islamic State terror group in Syria and Iraq want to go to Somalia due to European countries' reluctance to take them back. Through their parents, the so-called Islamic State brides and their children have urged the Somali government to take them in. VOA Somali service's Investigative Dossier program has obtained the list of 23 women and 34 children who are now being held at al-Hol camp in northern Syria. The relatives say the IS brides have expressed “regret” and accept they made a “mistake” in leaving Europe to travel to Syria. Some of the women have lost their European citizenship. Nasra Abdullahi Abukar is one of them. She left London’s Lewisham Borough on June 3, 2014 and travelled to Syria.…

Each morning, Daybreak Africa looks at the latest developments on the continent, starting with headline news and providing in-depth interviews, reports from VOA correspondents, sports news as well as listener comments. ...

The giant e-commerce technology company, Amazon, has announced that it expects to start delivering orders to shoppers' homes by drones in the coming months. The details are still in the works, but the innovation could change the way we get packages. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports. ...

Online data is at risk. Hackers are getting smarter and companies across the globe are facing a shortage of trained professionals who can help protect their data. To fill this gap, the U.S. government is beefing up its efforts to recruit the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. VOA’s Sahar Majid has more. ...

Fourteen Russia-backed YouTube channels spreading disinformation have been generating billions of views and millions of dollars in advertising revenue, according to researchers, and had not been labeled as state-sponsored, contrary to the world's most popular streaming service's policy. The channels, including news outlets NTV and Russia-24, carried false reports ranging from a U.S. politician covering up a human organ harvesting ring to the economic collapse of Scandinavian countries. Despite such content, viewers have flocked to the channels and U.S. and European companies have bought ads that run alongside them. The previously unpublished research by Omelas, a Washington-based firm that tracks online extremism for defense contractors, provides the most comprehensive view yet of the Russian government's success in attracting viewers and generating revenue from propaganda on YouTube, which has 2 billion…

Facebook has stopped letting its apps come pre-installed on smartphones sold by Huawei in order to comply with U.S. restrictions, dealing a fresh blow to the Chinese tech giant. The social network said Friday that it has suspended providing software for Huawei to put on its devices while it reviews recently introduced U.S. sanctions. Owners of existing Huawei smartphones that already have Facebook apps can continue using them and downloading updates. It's not clear if buyers of new Huawei devices will be able to install Facebook's apps on their own. Facebook's move is the latest fallout in the escalating U.S.-China tech feud. The Commerce Department last month effectively barred U.S. companies from selling their technology to Huawei and other Chinese firms without government approval. ...