India’s Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill providing a 10 percent quota in government jobs for the poor members of upper castes who have been excluded from existing quotas for low-ranking castes. The Congress party and other opposition parties supported the legislation, but criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for getting it approved just months…
read moreThis week, visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are getting a look at the latest technology in TVs, computers, smartwatches and drones. But they are also seeing examples of how tech can be used to help people around the world become more resilient. Michelle Quinn reports. …
read moreThe annual Consumer Electronics Show is underway in Las Vegas. The massive exhibition highlights trends and new products that should change the way we live — in some cases as early as next week, and in others, years in the future. VOA’s Kevin Enochs looks at a few of the new technologies that will change…
read moreThe upcoming departure of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is raising questions about the future of a special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Rosenstein is seen as the protector of the probe, which has been vilified by U.S. President Donald Trump, whose nominee as attorney general, William Barr, has…
read moreEfforts to end a 19-day partial government shutdown stalled Wednesday when President Trump walked out of White House talks with congressional Democrats. Trump’s request for nearly $6 billion in funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall triggered what is now the second longest government shutdown in U.S. history. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on what’s…
read moreDeep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage — hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle. Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairy tale for…
read moreCuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel replaced his transport and finance ministers this week in his first Cabinet reshuffle since forming his own government in July and amid a cash crunch and growing discontent with the island’s transport sector. Cuban state media said Wednesday that Transport Minister Adel Yzquierdo, 73, and Finance Minister Lina Pedraza, 63, had…
read moreYoung people from around the world who provided low-cost child care for American families will share in a proposed $65.5 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by a dozen former au pairs against the companies that bring the workers to the United States. Nearly 100,000 au pairs, mostly women, who worked in American homes…
read moreU.S. airport security workers and air traffic controllers working without pay warned that security and safety could be compromised if a government shutdown continues beyond Friday, when some workers will miss their first paychecks. On the 19th day of a partial government shutdown caused by a dispute over funding President Donald Trump wants for a…
read moreIt has GPS, lasers, computer vision, and uses machine learning and sensors to be more efficient. This is the new high-tech farm equipment from John Deere, which made its first Consumer Electronics Show appearance this week to highlight the importance of tech in farming. Deere brought its massive agricultural combine and GPS-guided tractor to…
read moreDeputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has overseen the Russian election meddling probe, is set to leave the U.S. Department of Justice in coming weeks as President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the department is set to take over, several U.S. media outlets reported on Wednesday. Rosenstein has had oversight of the U.S. Special…
read moreThe CES 2019 gadget show opened its doors Tuesday, with tech companies from giants to tiny startups showing off their latest products and services. In recent years, CES’s influence has declined as Apple, Google and other major companies throw their own events to launch new wares. Still, more than 180,000 people from about 150 countries…
read morePresident Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in Congress made clear Tuesday in nationally televised remarks that while each side supports border security efforts, they remain far apart on the scale and cost of what those measures should be. The standoff has closed one quarter of the federal government since December 22. Watch President Trump’s…
read moreWith a prime-time speech from the Oval Office Tuesday night, U.S. President Donald Trump made his case to build a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico, and addressed growing anxiety over the partial government shutdown resulting from his wall-funding fight with lawmakers. Democrats responded by urging the president to stop holding the American people…
read moreFacebook has violated Vietnam’s new cybersecurity law by allowing users to post anti-government comments on the platform, state media said on Wednesday, days after the controversial legislation took effect in the communist-ruled country. Despite economic reforms and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate dissent. “Facebook…
read moreAs marine farming grows worldwide, there is an urgent need to study the effects—both positive and negative—on the local ecosystems. Deana Mitchell visits Tomales Bay in Northern California where researchers are using the latest drone technology to investigate. …
read moreChina approved five genetically modified (GM) crops for import on Tuesday, the first in about 18 months in a move that could boost its overseas grains purchases and ease pressure from the United States to open its markets to more farm goods. The United States is the world’s biggest producer of GM crops, while China…
read moreVenezuela’s opposition-run congress on Tuesday issued a resolution calling deals between state-run oil company PDVSA and U.S. and French companies announced this week illegal, since they had not been sent to lawmakers for approval. The body said the oilfield deals with France’s Maurel & Prom and little-known U.S. company Erepla violated article 150 of Venezuela’s constitution,…
read moreThe World Bank is downgrading its outlook for the global economy this year, citing rising trade tension, weakening manufacturing activity and growing financial stress in emerging-market countries. In a report titled “Darkening Skies,” the anti-poverty agency said Tuesday that it expects the world economy to grow 2.9 percent in 2019, down from the 3 percent…
read moreAs President Donald Trump prepares to pressure Democrats on border wall funding with a nationally televised address Tuesday night, Senate Democrats are pushing back by pledging a blockade of legislation until the Republican-controlled chamber votes on a spending bill to reopen shuttered U.S. government agencies. Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar urged her colleagues in a tweet…
read moreA federal grand jury has indicted a Kremlin-linked lawyer, who met U.S. President Donald Trump’s eldest son and other members of his campaign in 2016, on charges of obstruction of justice in a case that highlights her ties to the Russian government, despite her repeated denial. Natalia Veselnitskaya, who is believed to be in…
read moreAs she nears a decision on whether to seek the presidency, Sen. Kamala Harris is taking on what could be a hurdle in a Democratic primary: her past as a prosecutor. In her memoir published Tuesday, the California Democrat describes herself as a “progressive prosecutor” and says it’s a “false choice” to decide between supporting…
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