Year: 2021

Year: 2021

Iran Says Rocket Launch Sent 3 ‘Research Payloads’ Into Space 
12/30/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Iran has used a satellite launch rocket to send three research devices into space, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Thursday, as indirect U.S.-Iran talks take place in Austria to try to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal.  He did not clarify whether the devices had reached orbit.  Iran, which has one of the biggest missile

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A Year After Booting Trump, Social Media Companies Face More Challenges Over Elections
12/27/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

For U.S. social media companies, the violent mob storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6 last year spurred action. They shut down then-President Donald Trump’s accounts. One year later, are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube any better prepared to face similar situations in the U.S. or in other countries? Michelle Quinn reports. Camera: Deana Mitchell Produced

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Historic Year of Space Travel, Space Movies, and Space Junk
12/26/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

2021 was a historic year for all-things space … from the success of private spaceflight companies to robots exploring Mars in a road trip for the ages. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi beams us through the Year in Space. …

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Robots Serve Food to Diners at Iraq Restaurant
12/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The White Fox restaurant in Mosul, Iraq, isn’t known for its comfortable atmosphere or its great food and drinks. It’s known for its servers. VOA’s Kawa Omar filed this report, narrated by Rikar Hussein. Producer and camera: Kawa Omar. …

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James Webb Space Telescope Launch Set for Saturday
12/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

“White-knuckle” — That’s how Rusty Whitman describes the month ahead, after the launch of the historic James Webb Space Telescope, now tentatively set for Saturday.  From a secure control room in Baltimore, Maryland, Whitman and his colleagues will hold their breath as Webb comes online. But that’s just the beginning.  For the first six months

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US Chipmaker’s Apology to China Draws Criticism
12/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. chipmaker Intel is facing criticism in China after it apologized Thursday for a letter the firm sent to suppliers asking them “to ensure that its supply chain does not use any labor or source goods or services from the Xinjiang region.” On Thursday, Intel posted a Chinese-language message on its WeChat and Weibo accounts

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AP Exclusive: Polish Opposition Senator Hacked With Spyware 
12/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Polish Senator Krzysztof Brejza’s mobile phone was hacked with sophisticated spyware nearly three dozen times in 2019 when he was running the opposition’s campaign against the right-wing populist government in parliamentary elections, an internet watchdog found. Text messages stolen from Brejza’s phone — then doctored in a smear campaign — were aired by state-controlled TV

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No More Video Games on Tesla Screens While Cars Are Moving 
12/23/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Under pressure from U.S. auto safety regulators, Tesla has agreed to stop allowing video games to be played on center touch screens while its vehicles are moving.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the company will send out a software update over the Internet so the function called “Passenger Play” will be locked and

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Apple Must Answer Shareholder Questions on Forced Labor, SEC Says
12/23/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has declined an effort by Apple Inc. to skip a shareholder proposal asking the iPhone maker to provide greater transparency in its efforts to keep forced labor out of its supply chain.  A group of shareholders earlier this year asked Apple’s board to prepare a report on how the

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Above New York, a Giant Green Roof Tries to Reduce Carbon Footprint
12/20/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

New York’s largest convention center hosts about 175 events each year that draw hundreds of thousands of people to the city. To help offset the environmental impact, the owners have installed an urban farm and solar farm…on the building’s roof. Tina Trinh reports. …

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Ransomware Persists Even as High-Profile Attacks Have Slowed
12/19/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

In the months since President Joe Biden warned Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he needed to crack down on ransomware gangs in his country, there hasn’t been a massive attack like the one last May that resulted in gasoline shortages. But that’s small comfort to Ken Trzaska. Trzaska is president of Lewis & Clark Community College,

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After Whistleblower Disclosures, Facebook Faces an Uncertain Future
12/17/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

After internal Facebook documents were shared widely with news organizations, the question remains whether and how Facebook will change. Michelle Quinn reports. …

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China-Russia Collaboration in Space Poses Challenge for West
12/17/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

China and Russia have begun collaborating on technology to rival the United States’ GPS and European Galileo satellite navigation systems, as the two countries pursue closer military and strategic ties. Earlier this year, China agreed to host ground monitoring stations for Russia’s GLONASS positioning system on its soil, which improves global range and accuracy but

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End of an Era: Airbus Delivers Last A380 Superjumbo to Emirates 
12/16/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Airbus is set to deliver the final A380 superjumbo to Dubai’s Emirates on Thursday, marking the end of a 14-year run that gave Europe an instantly recognized symbol across the globe but failed to fulfil the commercial vision of its designers.    Production of the world’s largest airliner — capable of seating 500 people on

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Report Indicates Greater Huawei Involvement in Surveillance
12/16/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The Chinese telecom giant Huawei has consistently claimed it does not actively partner with the Chinese government in gathering intelligence on individuals within China, but a report by The Washington Post this week showing the company appears to have marketed surveillance technology to government customers calls the company’s assertions into question. The report comes as

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NASA Probe Becomes First Spacecraft to Enter Sun’s Atmosphere
12/15/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The U.S. space agency NASA says its Parker Solar Probe this week became the first spacecraft to enter the Sun’s atmosphere, also known as the corona.  The space agency announced the news Tuesday at a press conference during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in New Orleans.  In a statement, NASA scientists said the probe actually entered the Sun’s corona April 18, but it took until now to get the data

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Why China’s Advancements in Quantum Technology Worry Others 
12/15/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

China’s advances in quantum computing will give a new advantage to its armed forces, already the world’s third strongest, analysts say. Quantum refers to a type of computing that lets high-powered machines make calculations that are too complex for ordinary devices.  The concept discovered by American physicist Richard Feynman in 1980 has two key military

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VP Harris Unveils Biden Administration Electric Car Charging Plan 
12/13/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday unveiled a White House plan to build 500,000 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country, part of President Joe Biden’s goal of making the vehicles more accessible for both local and long-distance trips.  Harris made the announcement during a ceremony at an EV charging facility in

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US, Australia and Japan to Fund Undersea Cable in the Pacific
12/12/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The United States, Australia and Japan said Sunday they will jointly fund the construction of an undersea cable to boost internet access in three tiny Pacific countries, as the Western allies seek to counter rising Chinese influence in the region. The three Western allies said they would develop the cable to provide faster internet to

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 ’Futures’ Exhibit Looks at Possibilities
12/11/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

A self-driving flying taxi. A super-fast land-based transport vehicle. A sustainable floating city. Science fiction, or the wave of the future? The “Futures” exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, open Nov. 20, 2021, through July 6, 2022, gives visitors a peek at what may happen in the years to come. The exhibit opened as

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As Democracy Summit Wraps, US Restricts Exports of Repressive Cyber Tools
12/11/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

As the two-day virtual Summit for Democracy hosted by President Joe Biden wrapped up on Friday, the U.S., Australia, Denmark and Norway announced an export control program to monitor and restrict the spread of technologies used to violate human rights. The U.S. is also launching programs to support independent media and anti-corruption efforts and defend

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‘The Internet’s on Fire’ as Techs Race to Fix Software Flaw
12/11/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

A software vulnerability exploited in the online game Minecraft is rapidly emerging as a major threat to internet-connected devices around the world. “The internet’s on fire right now,” said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. “People are scrambling to patch and there are … all kinds of people scrambling

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