The cost for individual homes in the U.S. to “go solar” has dropped by more than 60 percent over the last decade. Those low costs helped convince more than a million Americans to install solar panels on their roofs. Now …
Brazil’s government plans to announce spending freezes of 30 billion to 35 billion reais ($9.7 billion to $11.3 billion) this week to help meet part of its 2017 budget deficit target, the Senate leader said on Tuesday. The rest of …
Google wants to make it easier for you to find answers and recommendations on smartphones without having to think about what to ask its search engine. Its new feature, called “shortcuts,” will appear as a row of icons below the …
The enemy drone whined in the distance. The Interceptor, a drone-hunting machine from Silicon Valley startup Airspace Systems, slinked off its launch pad and dashed away in hot pursuit. The hunter twisted through the air to avoid trees, homed in …
Amid continuing economic turmoil, Venezuela skipped heating oil contributions to a Massachusetts-based nonprofit for a second consecutive winter, signaling that the popular program that began with fanfare after Hurricane Katrina may be kaput. The decision by Venezuela’s Citgo Petroleum Corp. …
Namibia’s president said Tuesday that the government is considering radical land expropriation to spur the transfer of property to the country’s black majority. Speaking at Namibia’s 27th independence celebrations, President Hage Geingob said the government should evoke part of the …
Apple is cutting prices on two iPad models and introducing red iPhones, but the company held back on updating its higher-end iPad Pro tablets. A much-speculated 10.5-inch iPad Pro didn’t materialize, nor did new versions of existing sizes in the …
Twitter suspended more than 376,000 accounts in the second half of 2016, most of which it said were promoting terrorism. Most of the accounts, 74 percent, were removed by proprietary software, the company said in its latest transparency report. The …
A Singapore-based ride-hailing service launched a trial in Myanmar’s biggest city Tuesday, making it the first international company to operate there. “Grab,” a company that currently operates in six other countries in Southeast Asia, would rival a number of local …
An organization affiliated with Google is offering tools that news organizations and election-related sites can use to protect themselves from hacking. Jigsaw, a research arm of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., says that free and fair elections depend on access …
The biggest construction project in Europe is taking place beneath the British capital, London. The largely subterranean Crossrail route linking Heathrow airport to the eastern financial district and beyond is designed to ease congestion as London’s population grows; but, it …
The recent South By South West Festival is showcased the world’s latest technologies – some in development and others already on the market. VOA’s Arturo Martinez was there and brings us highlights from the Interactive Innovation Awards. …
The University of Southern California each year hosts the African Economic and Development Summit, bringing delegations of African business leaders, government officials and others to network with their counterparts in the U.S. But this year, the African summit has no Africans. All were …
Animal testing has become problematic in the past few decades. Animal rights activists have uncovered numerous instances of animal cruelty, and it’s also expensive to keep animal test subjects, especially if they’re treated humanely. But how else can pharmaceutical companies …
Fifty thousand Haitians will have access to quality health care for the first time after a modern new hospital opened Monday in the isolated and impoverished Cotes-de-Fer region. The Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health will serve those who, …
Cutting-edge technologies — from drones to data collected by taxi drivers — are becoming key weapons in the global battle to improve land rights and fight poverty, experts said Monday. Advances in earth observation, digital connectivity and computing power provide …
An experimental anti-malaria vaccine has been developed that protects against more than one strain of the malaria parasite that causes the mosquito-borne illness. The vaccine, tested by principal investigator Kirsten Lyke and colleagues, is called PfSPZ and uses whole, …
The World Bank reports Africa will receive the bulk of the $75 billion the International Development Association, or IDA, will spend to finance life-saving and life-changing operations over the next three years mainly in 30 of the world’s poorest, most …
Tanzania has announced a plan to send 500 doctors to Kenya after a doctors’ strike paralyzed health services in the neighboring country for months. Kenyan doctors, however, say the government should not hire any foreign doctors but instead employ the …
There was bad news for the United Nations last week, as President Donald Trump announced he is seeking a 28 percent budget cut for diplomacy and foreign aid, which includes an unspecified reduction in funding to the United Nations and …
Would you drink beer made from toilet water? The brewers at one popular brewery in California are betting you would. Stone Brewing of San Diego unveiled a new beer made from water that “comes from the toilet,” according to ABC …
China, the world’s third-largest bond market accounting for $9 trillion in debt instruments, has started the process of opening up to foreign investors. Two major investment banks, including Citigroup, have announced plans to join the fray and several others are …
Only 17 snowy miles from the Canadian border, Katie Bushey’s most basic needs are met by traveling health aides who come into her home to change her diapers, track her seizures, spoon-feed her fettucine Alfredo and load her wheelchair into …
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke up for free trade at a major technology fair on Sunday with jabs clearly pointed at an increasingly protectionist United States. Both called for a free trade deal to …