Monthly Archives: March 2017


Trump to Sign Executive Orders Targeting Trade Abuses

President Donald Trump talked tough on trade on the campaign trail, vowing to renegotiate a slew of major deals and to label China a currency manipulator on “Day One.” Now his administration appears to be taking a more cautious approach.   On Friday, the president will sign a pair of executive orders aimed at cracking down on trade abuses, according to top administration officials. The first calls for the completion of a large-scale report to identify “every form of trade abuse and every non-reciprocal practice that now contributes to the …


California Desert Super Bloom Attracts Tens of Thousands

Rain-fed wildflowers have been sprouting from California’s desert sands after lying dormant for years — producing a spectacular display that has drawn record crowds and traffic jams to tiny towns like Borrego Springs.   An estimated 150,000 people in the past month have converged on this town of about 3,500, roughly 85 miles (135 kilometers) northeast of San Diego, for the so-called super bloom.    Wildflowers are springing up in different landscapes across the state and the western United States thanks to a wet winter. In the Antelope Valley, an …


Cargo Vessels Evade Detection, Raising Fears of Huge Trafficking Operations

Hundreds of ships are switching off their tracking devices and taking unexplained routes, raising concern the trafficking of arms, migrants and drugs is going undetected. Ninety percent of the world’s trade is carried by sea. Every vessel has an identification number administered by the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization or IMO. But crews are able to change the digital identity of their ship, making it possible to conceal previous journeys. The Israeli firm Windward has developed software to track the changes. Its CEO, Ami Daniel, showed VOA several examples of …


Cargo Vessels Evade Detection, Raising Fears of Trafficking Operations

Hundreds of ships are switching off their tracking devices and taking unexplained routes, raising concern that the trafficking of arms, migrants and drugs is going undetected. New technology enables authorities to follow the routes of suspect vessels, but security experts say taking on the smugglers will require greater coordination. Henry Ridgwell reports. … From: MeNeedIt


Qatar Airways to Offer Loaner Laptops in Wake of US Ban

Qatar Airways is offering loaner laptops to its business class passengers in the wake of a U.S. ban on them on flights from several countries. “As an award-winning and global airline we truly appreciate the importance of being able to work on board our aircraft and that is why I have insisted on offering only the best possible solution for our customers,” said Akbar Al Baker, the company’s CEO. “By providing this laptop loan service we can ensure that our passengers on flights to the US can continue to work …


From Poor Eyesight to Bad Teeth, Pandas’ Needs Grow With Age

Failing eyesight, poor digestion, bad teeth, limbs no longer so limber: With captive giant pandas living longer than ever, the list of their physical and even emotional needs is growing.   China, the pandas’ native home, is seeking to cater to those requirements with a special home for the old timers along with customized diets, exercise and other care aimed at improving their quality of life.   “Of course we spend more energy taking care of old pandas,” said Xu Yalin, a panda keeper for 19 years at the China …


The Long Now Thinks Very Far Ahead

In the U.S., people often measure “success” as fifteen minutes of fame, or a blockbuster financial quarter. This focus on short term results doesn’t always build the skills needed to solve long-term problems, such as reducing disease outbreaks or maintaining species diversity. Concerns about the nation’s short attention span have prompted some visionaries to create a playfully serious way to think ahead. From San Francisco, Shelley Schlender reports about the Long Now Foundation. … From: MeNeedIt


Government: US Economic Growth Stronger Than First Thought

U.S. economic growth was a little stronger that first thought in the last few months of 2016. Thursday’s updated report from the Commerce Department says the economy grew at a 2.1 percent annual rate in October, November and December.  Growth was helped by stronger consumer spending. PNC Bank economist Gus Faucher says the world’s largest economy is in “solid shape” and expects growth will be stronger this year than in 2016. During the campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to boost economic growth to four percent or better by cutting …


Heroin Use Up in US, Particularly Among Younger Whites

Amid the growing opioid use crisis in the United States, a new study suggests heroin use is on the rise, particularly among younger white people. According to researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, “The portion of Americans using heroin has climbed five-fold in the last decade, and clinically defined heroin dependence has more than tripled.” They say the increases were most marked “among males, whites, those with low income and little education,” with the most pronounced increase among whites age 18 to 44. “In 2001 to 2002, …


Bob Dylan Archives Open in Oklahoma; Public Center Planned

Part of music icon Bob Dylan’s once-secret 6,000-piece archive, including thousands of hours of studio sessions, film reels and caches of unpublished lyrics, has opened in Oklahoma. More than 1,000 pieces of the collection spanning Dylan’s six-decade career are available to scholars at the Gilcrease Museum’s Helmerich Center for American Research in Tulsa. The opening comes a year after the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Tulsa acquired the collection for an estimated $15 million to $20 million. The public will get a glimpse of some of the …


Cruise Digs up a Monster in ‘The Mummy’

Universal Pictures is going back to its roots — monsters. The studio Wednesday debuted footage from its upcoming adventure film The Mummy, which opens a monster universe drawing on Universal’s vault of classic properties like Bride of Frankenstein, Invisible Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Tom Cruise stars in the Alex Kurtzman-directed The Mummy, which is equal parts action and horror as Cruise’s explorer Nick Morton attempts to combat an ancient evil that has been unlocked and threatens to destroy the world. Sofia Boutella is the Mummy, once an Egyptian princess who …


Farmers’ Use of Groundwater for Irrigation Called Unsustainable

Farmers around the world are using an unsustainable amount of well water to irrigate their crops, which could lead to an uptick in food prices as that water runs low, international researchers warned Wednesday. Farmers are increasing their use of groundwater to grow staple crops such as rice, wheat and cotton, the scientists said. But much of that water use is unsustainable, as water is being pumped out faster than it can be naturally replenished. “Groundwater depletion is increasing rapidly, especially in the last 10, 20 years, due to the …


PDVSA Manager Arrested in Venezuela Fuel Corruption Probe

Venezuela has arrested a senior manager of state oil company PDVSA on suspicion of “irregularities” in contracts to supply fuel to the domestic market, authorities said on Wednesday. The detention of international commerce manager Marco Malave, 47, followed a shakeup of personnel at PDVSA’s trade department since January and amid gasoline shortages around the South American OPEC nation last week. “PDVSA representatives denounced a series of irregularities in the protocol for contracting companies with vessels to supply the referred hydrocarbon to the Venezuelan market,” the state prosecutor’s office said in …


Study Finds Correlation Between Good Health, Economic Prospects

A study by U.S. economic experts and a major health insurance company says a healthy population is a key ingredient in a healthy and growing economy. Blue Cross and Moody’s Analytics used data from millions of insurance customers to draw a statistical relationship between health and prosperity in the United States. In counties throughout the 50 states where the population had top health scores, per capita incomes were nearly $4,000 a year higher than in counties where people had just average health scores.   Unemployment showed a similar pattern: The …


US Vote to Repeal Broadband Privacy Rules Sparks Interest in VPNs

The vote by the U.S. Congress to repeal rules that limit how internet service providers can use customer data has generated renewed interest in an old internet technology: virtual private networks, or VPNs. VPNs cloak a customer’s web-surfing history by making an encrypted connection to a private server, which then searches the Web on the customer’s behalf without revealing the destination addresses. VPNs are often used to connect to a secure business network, or in countries such as China and Turkey to bypass government restrictions on Web surfing. Privacy-conscious techies …


Sensitivity to Certain Sounds Is a Real Thing

Do you ever shudder when you hear certain sounds, such as rustling of some type of plastic bags or a fork scraping on the bottom of a porcelain plate? Or get a tingling in your teeth when somone scrapes their fingernails on a blackboard? It may be a mild annoyance for most, but a serious problem for people with “misophonia,” from the Greek words meaning hatred of sound. No matter how tolerant we are, most of us feel uncomfortable if a person sitting close to us in a quiet cinema starts …


Sensitivity to Certain Sounds Is a Thing

Do you ever shudder when you hear certain sounds, such as rustling of some type of plastic bags or a fork scraping on the bottom of a porcelain plate? Or get a tingling in your teeth when somone scrapes their fingernails on a blackboard? A mild annoyance for most, but a serious problem for people with “misophonia,” from the Greek words meaning hatred of sound. VOA’s George Putic reports. … From: MeNeedIt


US Vice Admiral Calls for Code of Conduct for Space

The deputy commander of the U.S. Strategic Command is calling for the development of a code of conduct for space as dreams of altruistic exploration fade. Vice Admiral Charles Richard believes establishing norms and practices of behavior in space would help nations better understand each other’s activities. “We’re still sorting out what constitutes an attack in space,” Richard said at a conference titled “Space Security: Issues for the New U.S. Administration” held last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “What is the indisputable evidence required …


Space Laboratory the Size of a Tissue Box

A tiny satellite launched by India that is circling the earth contains a laboratory that is only the size of a tissue box. The lab is helping scientists carry out experiments that range from finding ways to improve pharmaceuticals to perfecting the foam in coffee. VOA’s Deborah Block has the story. … From: MeNeedIt


Souq.com says Amazon has Bought it After $800M Counteroffer

Amazon purchased the Middle East’s biggest online retailer Souq.com on Tuesday for an undisclosed amount, a day after a state-backed firm disclosed an $800 million counteroffer.   A joint statement described the purchase as expanding Amazon’s influence into the Mideast as the state-supported firm Emaar prepares to launch its own retail website in a country known more for its luxury malls than online shopping.   That could put Seattle-based Amazon in a head-to-head competition with a firm helmed by one of the sheikhdom’s favored business magnates.   “This is a …


This Day in History: America’s Worst Nuclear Fears Realized at Three Mile Island Plant 

Thirty-eight years ago today — March 28, 1979 — disaster struck at 4 a.m. at the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant in central Pennsylvania after its cooling system failed. It remains the worst nuclear accident in American history. A simple plumbing failure prevented the main feedwater pumps from sending water to generators that remove heat from the plant’s core reactor.   During those pre-dawn hours, the temperature of the reactor rose steadily even as staffers were unaware that a valve in the emergency cooling system had become stuck in place, …


Indiana Board Set to Endorse $7M Carrier Deal Trump Brokered

An Indiana board is poised to endorse a deal directing $7 million in tax breaks and grants for a deal brokered by President Donald Trump to keep hundreds of jobs at the Carrier Corp. factory in Indianapolis.   The incentive package is set for a vote by an Indiana Economic Development Board committee on Tuesday, nearly four months after Trump celebrated the deal at the furnace factory.   Carrier is pledging to keep nearly 1,100 jobs at the factory, including about 800 production jobs that the company had planned to …


Political Atmosphere Gives Cartoonist Plenty of Material

Political satire dates back to the ancient Greeks, 2,400 years ago when Aristophanes made fun of the Peloponnesian War. It’s a staple of late-night American television talk shows and the editorial pages of most newspapers. Successful political cartoonists are able to draw biting commentary with the stroke of a crayon. VOA’s Anush Avetisyan profiles an award-winning cartoonist. … From: MeNeedIt


Exoskeleton Makes Lifting Easier

Lifting boxes by hand, day after day, in places like warehouses can cause muscle strain and other injuries. But now a new exoskeleton — a rigid external body frame that assists with limb movement can help prevent problems associated with repetitive tasks like handling boxes or materials at construction sites. VOA’s Deborah Block tells us more about it. … From: MeNeedIt


Facebook’s Messenger App to Allow Live Location-sharing

Facebook Inc will add a feature to its Messenger app Monday to allow users to share their locations, the company said, ramping up competition with tools offered by Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google Maps. The company has found that one of the most used phrases on Messenger as people talk to friends and family is “How far away are you?” or some variation, Stan Chudnovsky, head of product for Messenger, said in an interview. “It happens to be what people are saying, what they’re interested in the most,” he …